FFVII: The Novel
by Karma Hunter
Summary: It's the massive undertaking of novelizing Final Fantasy VII. Chapter Six is now up and completed, and revisions of other chapters are coming. R&R!
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: All rights to Final Fantasy 7, all respective parties, and virtually anything I write about even remotely related to said topics are copyright of Squaresoft. : (

Final Fantasy VII

Chapter 1: Noise

Noise.

Though Midgar had been renowned for many things, from the alluring lies of opportunity and prosperity to the legendary piss stained streets, slums, and corruption that filled the city like a gas tank spewing and regurgitating its own choked filth, all the legends had been dwarfed by the constant noise the city exuded. The screams of pain, anguish, and sorrow wailed as background to the ear splitting sirens of the law of the city: an ever-present reminder of the power enforcing the chaos and perpetrators of more crimes than any mob or street gang (although those crimes were hardly in short supply as well) Throbbing about in an octave cycle, the reactors rumbled and spewed their noise, sucking Mako, causing tremors, powering weapons, and creating green infernos, all to rise the cacophony that was Midgar's inherent symphony. Every noise was indigenous to Midgar: the screams and gunfire from the slums, the moans of prostitutes and the sizzle of nightclubs. And atop the Plate, atop the pinnacle of Midgar, the rotors of choppers creating a deafening soprano accompanying the ruffling of blood money that screamed Death silently. A city of every audible, of every conceivable noise.

And to those who could hear it, the cries of the planet.

The girl winced. She glanced around, almost wishing that the sound had originated from some nearby mugging, assault, or perhaps even worse scenario. Looking back directly in to the reflection of her green eyes in the green fire that powered the building, she pondered silently for a while, and then came to an adeptly fashioned rationalization.

_Not healthy to stare at Mako_, she thought. _Makes people hear things. And…it's not good for the flowers._

The girl rose, gathering her flowers in one arm, and strode out of the alley as nonchalantly as she consciously could. Focusing so hard on remaining unnoticed, she barely heard the noise of the Enforcer's motorcycle as it blasted by her, nearly running her down.

She sighed.

_At least he didn't recognize me. I must be doing at least something right._

It was better not to be noticed, the girl mused. Girls too conspicuously careless might catch the unwanted leer of some filthy drunkard, or worse yet, a MP law Enforcer's (who were usually dead drunk anyways). She stared up at the theatre sign, 'Loveless' brilliantly standing out as the main attraction. Shifting her attention to the large green clock high above the plaza, she prepared to change her demeanor to the bright, cheery king the Plate residents, the only people who could afford to see such plays, would be receptive to. Plate residents weren't concerned with people in the slums, she knew. And they weren't allowed to, it was the idyllic, ignorant middle class that kept the mammoth Midgar running, their money was the lifeblood of tyranny. As such, they couldn't very well be allowed to sympathize with the plight of tyranny's victims.

The flower girl, in one final action of concentration, expunged the thoughts from her head. She resolved to sell each and every flower of hers to the crowd that would soon jubilantly (albeit half-drunkenly) exit—no doubting thoughts would stop her from that.

And as she waited, screwing up her resolve, she took almost no heed of the train whistle adding to the ever-present noise, though the blow of a train whistle always had struck a nostalgic chord with her. Though she could never really explain why…

*** * * * ***

The MPs by the cargo dock took even less heed of the train's whistle as it rumbled into the No. 1 Mako Reactors' loading dock. As the first of the guards made his way over to the doors, a clatter at the train's roof startled him. Suspecting a train rat, he began to ascend a ladder to the roof of the train. As he reached the top, however, he was greeted roughly by a large boot to his face, toppling him down the ladder. Dazed, the guard snapped his eyes open groggily just in time to view a darkly clothed, fiery-haired man flip over the side of the train, and deliver a swift flying kick to his sternum with the opposite boot, knocking him senseless.

The guard's counterpart, taken aback, hesitantly approached to attack the strange man. As he moved closer to attack, he was clobbered in the back of his head by a brusque looking brunette, her light blue eyes flashing for each consecutive blow she delivered. As the guard fell in defeat, he grasped for his comlink, and in one desperate move sounded a Red Alert to the entire facility.

Unfortunately for him, the last desperate act had not gone unseen. A stout, thick man, bringing up the rear of his two companions sighted the fallen soldier sound the Alert. Annoyed and simultaneously more than a little panicked, the thick soldier slung his assault rifle from over his back, and slammed the guard's skull into the pavement with the butt of his weapon before rushing ahead to his two comrades.

As the three intruders scampered away from the loading dock, two men brought up their rear: both catapulting over the train and landing solidly next to the two fallen guards. The first was a big, Black, muscular man in his middle thirties, looking more than perfectly comfortable in the combat that surrounded him. He wore a simple jacket; sleeves ripped to expose a flaming skull tattoo on his arm, and leaving his chest bare save for a chain of dangling dog tags and a lower armor plating concealing what would have been a conspicuously well toned and sizeable six-pack. His gruff demeanor, thick beard, low cut hairstyle, and piercing brown eyes served only to accentuate the intimidation he radiated.

But none of his trappings served to make him intimidating so much as his right hand, or rather, what had been his right hand. In place of it was a large, six barreled gatling gun. The metal was huge; its weight would have toppled any normal man. Yet he lifted it with ease, as seemingly versatile as he worked his working hand.

The man that followed seemed almost his exact antithesis. Literally vaulting with one hand from the train's roof, he stood in stark contrast. His blue rugged outfit set him apart without need for further scrutiny. Held up by a heavy leather belt and bandolier, and set with one thick shoulder plate on his left shoulder, his mere attire was imposing independently. Yet it paled in comparison to his demeanor and his weapon, respectively. For his weapon was so large, so gigantic, that it seemed too big to wield by any mortal man. It was a sword, but resembled its namesake in only the loosest sense of the word. The sword was enormous, a presence all its own. Perpendicular to the hilt, two finely carved holes held two glittering green orbs, sparkling even amongst the decrepit city. A crease along its outline separated the weapon's blade from the bulk of the saber. A veritable image of rock hardness and steel fashion, the weapon screamed power. Yet it exuded an aura that humbled: for it to be of use to one, that one first must possess the strength to wield it.

And yet the man with the sword tucked in his oversized bandolier seemed the last person able to wield such a weapon. He was smaller by far than his counterpart, standing a mere 5'7, and could almost be dubbed skinny. His fair complexion did nothing to alleviate the image, and his blond hair, wildly flailing in every direction forming haphazard spikes and floppy tendrils, was practically laughable.

But his eyes…

His eyes were a deep blue, cold and reticent. Colder still was his glare, as though it itself could diminish one and annihilate from the earth. But above all, amplifying the coldness was a piercing glow, an unnatural light the eyes gave off. The glow: the hard, piercing stare of the eyes gave intimidation far surpassing the man beside him.

The man beside him, viewing for the first time the imposing visage fully armored, seemed to acknowledge that fact. Turning to the warrior beside him, he waited as the blonde stood still, as if entranced. Finally, the bigger man spoke.

"C'mon newcomer," he rasped somewhat impatiently. "Follow me."

As the gun-armed marksman left the other fighter and disappeared, the latter began to stir just as two MPs, alerted from the adjacent corridors, charged into the loading dock and attacked.

The first guard, more headstrong than the other charged the warrior at full speed. But almost as fast as he had reached the sight of his eyes the guard stumbled and fell painfully onto the pavement, horrorstruck.

"RUN!!" he screamed, horrified. Frantically, he crawled backwards away from the figure that loomed before him.

Before he had a chance to complete his sentence, the warrior had flung himself at him with lightning speed, and brought the blunt edge of his weapon upon his back as he vaunted past him. The blow brutally incapacitated the guard instantly.

The remaining MP looked daunted, seeing his partner brought down so easily. Regaining his composure, he opened fire on the intruding sword-wielder.

Prepared, the warrior lifted his gigantic caliber sword to bear, and advanced on the MP, deflecting his shots with the sword that nearly concealed his entire frame by virtue of its mammoth size.

The guard could now see the warrior's eyes, and as his eyes met the unnatural glow of the warrior's, his gun clattered to the floor, though still half-stocked. He now was just as frightened as his partner had recently been. 

"Backup!" he screamed, fumbling for his comlink. "I need backup! It's a SOLDIER!"

The MP stood now only a few feet away from the advancer and he unsheathed his nightstick, held in a defensive position as a last-ditch effort to deflect the sword.

The warrior then stopped abruptly. He waited then for several long seconds, then, quickly and decidedly, sheathed his sword. But just as the MP that stood mere feet from him relaxed his defense ever so slightly, the warrior braced his body, and as one of the orbs in his sheathed sword glowed violently, he shouted, "Bolt!"

Instantaneously, a bolt of lightning flushed downwards, electrocuting the guard as well as prompt one more hysterical scream of "SOLDIER!" from the MP that was subsequently drowned out. 

"That's 'Ex-SOLDIER', MP," the Ex-SOLDIER drawled. Satisfied with his handiwork, he began to leave when something unbidden in his subconscious held him back.

_Finish the job…_

_Why?_ he thought in confused response. _They'll be out for hours; they're no longer a threat…_

_Do it…_

An explosion ahead brought him from his reverie. The Ex-SOLDIER hurried ahead to the next security door.

As he turned a corner, he saw his leading three team members taking fire from three guards. Abandoning his previous finesse, he stalked up from behind the assault riflemen, and slashed violently through all of their backsides simultaneously with one horizontal blow of the razor-sharp side of his saber.

The fiery-haired man, stepping from out of cover, looked at the newly broken bodies with a stare of adulation.

"WOW!" he gasped, gaping at the three dead men, whom he promptly disarmed. He then turned to the warrior again, exclaiming, "You were in SOLDIER all right!" He smiled. "Not every day ya meet one in a group like AVALANCHE."

"SOLDIER?" his female partner exclaimed, taking a seemingly closer look at the blond-haired fighter. "Aren't they the enemy?"

"Hold it Jessie," the fire-haired man interrupted, shaking his head at her ignorance of the situation. "He WAS in SOLDIER. He quit them and now is one of us."

The Ex-SOLDIER noted he had a western drawl, not unlike himself. In fact, they all did. All except…

"Didn't catch your name…" the red haired man led on.

"Cloud Strife," the warrior spoke harshly, accentuating the 'Strife' as he said it. He certainly didn't want some redhead even skinnier than him calling him 'Cloud'.

He, however, didn't catch the hint. 

"Cloud, eh?" He spoke as if he was merely remeeting an old friend. "I'm…" he started. 

"I don't care what your names are," Cloud spoke in an undertone. "Once this job's over…I'm outta here."

The previously cheerful man looked genuinely hurt now. 

"Biggs," he whispered anyways, slinking away as he did so.

"The hell you all doin'?!?" The voice made every body except Cloud jump and whirl about as the leader of the group approached, frustrated.

_All except him_, Cloud thought, finishing his almost forgotten observation. The dark man continued undaunted, despite the indifferent attitude Cloud displayed to the shouts that intimidated the others.

"I thought I told y'all never to move in a group!" he exclaimed.

Fortunately for the cowering Biggs and his larger counterpart, their brunette partner, who had been occupied with unlocking the security door, hacked it open, and effectively interrupted their leader's tirade.

After standing speechless for a moment, the leader gave a smile that he seemed incapable of producing.

"Good work, Jessie," he beamed. Turning slowly, more deliberately to the other three, he sighed. "Our target's the Number One Reactor, if you've forgotten," he growled. Then, in his usual boorish booming tone, he sounded, "Move Out!" spurring everybody but Cloud to advance through the door at once.

Cloud made an almost lackadaisical approach to the door, when the gun-arm of the leader intercepted him, blocking his way. 

"Ex-SOLDIER, huh?" he said, grimacing at Cloud. "Don't trust ya!" The look on his face would have enough to send many men cowering, not to mention his own teammates.

Cloud stared back, his eyes flickering and stealing the thunder from the former's stare. "I think you're forgetting the 'Ex' in that sentence," he quipped. "Maybe it's crossed your mind that you can't afford not to trust me?"

"Barret Wallace don't trust no damn Shinra!" AVALANCHE's leader thundered furiously. In a rage, he swung his gun-arm at Cloud with all his might. It just as quickly stopped; it shuddered as Cloud easily stopped it with one motion of his hand.

Barret's eyes popped open as his body shook with the force of the swing stopped so easily by the smaller man: the man whose eyes now glared daggers into Barret's. Infuriated, Barret Wallace glared at Cloud once more, and then dashed towards the reactor once more.

Cloud followed him soon after that.

*** * * * ***

The cobbled entrance to the reactor was rarely used any longer, and its decrepit state showed it. It was only used to transport the heaviest of machinery from the ports of Kalm, as it was the only passageway connected to the heavy freight train's loading dock.

_Hardly any security_, Cloud thought. Although it hadn't been all easy: having Jessie hack undetected into the reactor's systems from a remote tap, place an order for a Makuro refining piston (whatever the hell that was), and aerially hijacking the train carrying the device from the scaffolds of the Plate high-rises, all to arrive undetected in the heart of the Number One Reactor.

Cloud suddenly felt a sharp pain rip into his back. A familiar feeling coursed through his body—he'd been shot. The guard who had hit him had now emerged from the shadows, and his mutated Shinra attack dog advanced as well.

Cloud countered twofold: he impaled the disgusting canine upon his sword as it leapt upon him, and braced his body, concentrated as much as he could with the brutal pain coursing through his frame, and uttered a forceful cry of "Ice!" bombarding the MP with a shower of Ice magic formed in sharp icicles and hail, killing him instantly.

Cloud, wincing, wrenched the bullet from his backside.

_That could have killed me_, he thought angrily of his vulnerability. _Killed me, of course, if I hadn't been wearing my Bronze Bangle. _The special armor on his wrist had prevented the bullet from completely penetrating the flesh, and the old thing showed it as it still shuddered from the deflection of such a weak attack. Cloud faintly remembered complaining about having to fork over 500 gil for such minimal protection. Now he began to consider if it had been worth it after all. 

Cloud removed a small potion from a satchel at his waist, uncorked it, and poured it down his back, feeling the wound close.

_The rest is always internal_, he remembered, and promptly gulped down the remainder.

Feeling totally refreshed, he stepped out of the passageway and onto the catwalk leading to the reactor.

The scene before Cloud could be described as nothing less than a full-fledged war zone. Barret and the rest of the AVALANCHE team were duking it out with the squadrons of soldiers guarding the reactor, the elite plasma wielding riflemen, and the Sweeper-class Roboguard stationed at the entrance to the reactor proper. They seemed to be trouncing their opponents, but with one big exception: every lull in the battle resulted in one of the AVALANCHE members' being hit by very powerful, concentrated blasts of magic, thus incapacitating them temporarily and severely weakening the group as a whole.

Cloud had a clue, however, as to what could be doing such a thing. His eyes darted about, searching for the perpetrators. From the looks of how the magic was being focused, there were two of them. And pretty far removed from the action of the battle, right…

_There._

A single drone, created for the sole purpose to attack unseen whilst its victims were distracted using magic stored and charged in its core, moved into Cloud's line of vision high above him.

Uttering a small "Bolt!" he fried the pest, and promptly scanned for the second one.

_C'mon…_, he thought. _Drones,_ he spat inwardly. _They were exceedingly fragile, but deadly if taken lightly._

Cloud stopped. The second drone had drifted into plain sight, nearing the battle as so to focus and increase the potency of its magic better with its sibling mech destroyed.

Cloud assessed the options to the current situation. Sure, he could easily bring it down with another Bolt spell, but he wanted to save his magic, be less wasteful with this one.

Grinning, Cloud leapt from the catwalk he stood upon, diving straight for the drone. In one quick horizontal slash, he tore it in two, a near impossible feat considering the drone's diminutive size and the seeming unwieldiness of Cloud's sword.

Still in midair, Cloud realigned himself, and landed onto the catwalk perpendicular to his former directly in front of the Sweeper Roboguard, the only remaining enemy. Bringing his sword don, he cleaved the already damaged Roboguard in two, sending an electrical bloodbath of electrical bolts and meshed wires splattering across the reactor's entrance.

Barret, dazed, stopped firing as Cloud came crashing down in a blaze to end the skirmish. Then, ignoring Cloud, he motioned for Biggs and Jessie to follow him into the reactor with a quick motion of his wrist. 

As Cloud prepared to follow the group into the reactor, he saw that the last member of the party was apparently staying behind. Approaching him slowly, noting that he was almost as big as Barret was (though not nearly as muscular), Cloud groped to remember his name.

"Wedge," said the stout man, completing Cloud's silent inquiries. "Name's Wedge, if you've forgotten."

"Uh…yeah, Wedge…" Cloud said slowly. He quickly scanned his body for injuries. Finding none, he asked audibly, "Are you hurt?"

"Hurt?" Wedge said, chuckling. "No…I'm standing guard here…" he replied. He then straightened himself up as best he could, and said in the most commanding voice he could probably muster, "Concentrate on the mission, Cloud."

As Cloud turned away, Wedge exclaimed uncontrollably, "Gee, we're really gonna blow this place up!?! This'll be one BIG explosion!"

Cloud, after throwing a scornful look towards Wedge, turned away and made his way into the reactor proper.

_Wallace…_, he mused angrily. _That overgrown grizzly didn't know how to conduct an operation._ Cloud knew that he should have informed him of every aspect of the mission, rather than making him baby-sit everyone that made an odd move. It wasn't as if he cared about any of them.

_Or did it?_

The next security door that stood before Cloud was a piece of Shinra-grade, pure technological ingenuity. It was a set of two Mythril reinforced double doors, both of which had interlocking timed security sequences that required two reactor director's security codes to open. It was unhackable, unbreakable, and it had taken (as Barret so often reminded the Ex-SOLDIER) the lives of half the original AVALANCHE team to obtain just the two codes.

_And this was only the maintenance hatch…_, Cloud pondered in silent awe. _Next time, we won't be able to come in this directly._

_They_, he corrected himself as he approached Barret, Biggs, and Jessie at the double doors. _Just they._

"The hell you been!" Barret shouted at Cloud as soon as he was in earshot.

"Checking on your friend, Wedge," Cloud said calmly. "I thought he was hurt."

Barret looked at him skeptically for a moment, before changing the subject abruptly. "Yo! This your first time in a reactor?"

"Not exactly," came the reply. "I did use to work for Shinra, after all."

Barret visibly winced at the mere mention of the company, of which a near eighth of its power was being produced by the reactor they were standing in. Yet he winced even more inwardly at his inability to get a grasp on this guy's motivation or background. Only the highest ranking SOLDIERs had ever even been in a reactor core without permanent reassignment to one. Its inner workings had been and were still a closely guarded secret of the Shinra.

_Not just an electric generator, that's for sure_, Barret mused bitterly.

And then there were this guy's motivations. What was so damn important about the job? Not the pay, not compared to a SOLDIER's income. He was disinterested with the group, as well.

_He didn't even seem to care about her much, either_, he concluded. All that seemed to matter to him was this reactor, and whatever it was that was inside of it.

"This land was full of Mako energy," Barret probed, trying to get his new recruit to reveal something of his motivations. "It's the lifeblood of this planet," he continued, as if he was explaining anything that wasn't basic knowledge to anyone who didn't choose to ignore it. "But Shinra keeps sucking out the blood with these weird machines," he stated, glaring at him as he said the word 'Shinra'.

The Ex-SOLDIER showed no emotion as his former employer, company and empire alike, was spoken with such rancor. "I'm not here for a lecture," the blond-haired warrior replied contemptuously. "Let's just keep going."

The reply was not taken favorably, as the rebel leader, angered and slighted, burst out screaming again at Cloud, "The hell you think you're talkin' to?!?"

He advanced on Cloud, forcing him to back up by virtue of his sheer size alone.

"The hell you been?!?" he repeated, enraged. "Can't keep up worth shit, ya worthless bastard!" he spat once more. "Jus' hopin' yo Shinra pals would'a finished us off back at the entrance, huh?"

"You and this pathetic rebellion of yours would have been finished right then and there if I hadn't destroyed those drones. You didn't even bother to look up that Shinra stations Mono Drive drones at every reactor's entrance to keep out people like you!!" Cloud retorted with a flash of the unnatural glow in his eyes. "Hell, it's one of Shinra's protocols that actually exist on public information databases!"

Barret opened his mouth to reply, then though better of it when he glanced at Jessie, who was holding her head in shame over the technical slip-up. The others were completely caught off guard: seeing this display of emotion in someone that had so far perpetrated himself to be devoid of, incapable of, and impervious to feeling.

After a brief and awkward silence, Barret regained his composure. "That's it!" he sputtered. "You're coming with me from now on!"

Cloud nodded affirmatively; he seemed just as shocked from the audacity of his own outburst.

Biggs and Jessie, silent but relieved nonetheless to see the conflict resolved if only for a short time, began to enter the door codes.

Biggs entered the codes for the first door; his hand coded the digits swiftly and rapidly, and ended by placing his palm on the access screen with a flourish.

"Passcode One accepted," rang a metallic voice over the loudspeaker as affirmative tones dotted the first monitor. "Activation time engaged."

As Jessie stepped up to the next monitor to repeat the process, Biggs sauntered over to Cloud, holding out his hand triumphantly.

"Palm prints," he boasted, flicking his hand towards the warrior for a full view. "With the right codes, they'll get us ANYWHERE in Midgar." He lowered his voice to a whisper, and continued, "I got mine from the President himself, shook and scanned his sweaty, disgusting little hand at the Headquarters. I was disguised as a businessman, imagine that? Got that cackling Scarlet's and that guffawing Heidegger's prints too for Jessie and Wedge."

Biggs sighed. "I could've killed 'em all right then and there, y'know?" he rasped bitterly. "But I guess I didn't want to die right there, just then." The mere recollection of the close encounter seemed to weigh even heavier on Biggs' light frame. "A dirty little coward, that's all I am…" he concluded painfully.

"Life is precious," Cloud interjected, stunning Biggs yet again. "Even if you had killed them, hundreds more would have risen to take his place. You have to remember to risk your life in causes worth dying for, for something you feel won't be in vain."

Biggs nodded, seeing such a new light shed on his incident. At that moment, however, Biggs noticed a contradiction.

"But, Cloud?" Biggs inquired. "If that's the case, then…what are you risking your life for?"

"For the cause that's always worth dying for," Cloud answered matter-of-factly. "Money."

Biggs only looked on more dumbfounded at Cloud, just as Jessie unlocked the last set of doors with a final swipe of her palm prints. 

"My most prized invention," Jessie giggled, waving her now-free hand at Cloud. She then skipped happily through the security door.

Cloud, who had already started to follow her, instinctively looked back at Biggs. He emphatically gave Cloud a thumbs-up. "I'm standing guard!" he shouted to him. The warrior nodded, then ran through the security door himself, Barret hot on his heels.

As Cloud approached the cargo elevator, he stopped, letting Barret go in first. Then, as Cloud prepared to follow, a golden feather, sparkling even among the night sky, floated down from the rafters of the reactor. Recognizing it at once, Cloud snatched it deftly in one hand, and tenderly proceeded to slide it into his satchel. He then grinned slightly, and strutted a bit into the cargo elevator.

*** * * * ***

As Jessie activated the elevator, Cloud glanced at Barret, who was visibly annoyed by his slight tardiness. Now fully recovered from Cloud's glaring retort, he probed once more into Cloud's feelings toward the reactor, not to mention vent his own frustrations with it.

"Little by little the life'll be sucked out," he spoke, abnormally loud, especially for the cramped elevator. "And that'll be that," he finished in a still louder tone.

"It's not my problem," Cloud said coldly, his old demeanor reestablished as well. 

"The planet's dyin', Cloud!" Barret roared, all thoughts of probing put aside. "Don't you even care, Strife?"

"The only thing I care about is getting out of here and getting my money before security and Roboguards come," Cloud spoke even more coldly, not even deigning to glance at his employer. "Got it, Wallace?"

The reply that would be sure to follow, however, would have to wait. Before a retort could even be made, the elevator screeched and rumbled to a halt, and the double doors opened, heralding a hail of gunfire and plasma weaponry as MPs, plasma riflemen, and Sweeper Roboguards fired on the prone elevator entrance.

"Damn!" Barret cursed, escaping the elevator and strafing the guards with deadly precision and effectiveness as he scrambled for cover.

Cloud, on the other hand, after pushing Jessie into a corner of the elevator, dived directly into the fray. He swept his sword in deadly arcs, cutting down soldiers and deflecting bullets simultaneously: it appeared as though he anticipated the battle erupting all around him.

Within mere seconds it was all over. The guards had either been mowed down by the hail of Barret's gunfire or massacred by the precision of Cloud's sword. The three Sweepers had been destroyed as well, thanks to a few well placed grenades from Jessie.

"You sure can aim," Cloud commented, impressed at the sight of the totaled Roboguards.

"Aim had nothing to do with it," Jessie beamed at the Ex-SOLDIER. "It was a magnetic grenade, designed to home in on the Sweepers' unique metal casing."

Cloud was stunned. "Wow…," was all he could say, visibly even more impressed by the technical aspect of the handiwork.

"Hey, you lovebirds!" Barret yelled from below, having already descended into the depths of the reactor's core. "There ain't no time for that! C'mon!"

Jessie, blushing furiously once more, hurried after him. Cloud however, stayed behind, surveying the carnage.

The challenge had been nothing to him, a First Class SOLDIER, and yet he felt as if this, somehow, someway, had been nothing more than his first real battle, his first time to draw easy blood.

_Some things never change…_, he thought.

Entering the next room after descending the stairs, he was greeted by a myriad of pipes, ladders, and chains. Deftly leaping and descending to the catwalks below, he spotted Jessie whom he assumed was standing guard and waved to. At last he found himself at the base of the Number One Reactor, with none other than Barret Wallace waiting to greet him.

"Bout damn time," Barret muttered. "You're s'posed ta stick wit me!"

Cloud, stowing his retorts, strode past him into the Central Dynamo of the Reactor's core. Midway to the center, he was bombarded by an unseen assailant. He collapsed as noise after noise shattered his consciousness. The noises were not inherent even to Midgar, only similar in the cascade of pain and despair, culminating in harsh yells of one sentence:

_Watch out! This isn't just a reactor!_

And just as quickly as the noises had come, they went in a flash. Seconds later only Cloud remained—dazed and bewildered.

"You all right?" came Barret's voice from behind him.

"Yeah…" Cloud mumbled. Regaining his composure, he stalked up to the reactor's core, and surveyed it with an accustomed awe.

The core was a sight to even the most familiar with it. The boiling Mako below was all vented through the core, which refined it into energy. Pipes, rotors, wheels, and axles of all sorts powered the reactor, as all around the two intruders the mechanical groove worked as smoothly as a clock, centralizing its power. 

Barret, observing Cloud's mesmerization, spoke up. "When we blow this, this ain't gonna be more than a hunka junk."

Cloud began to nod, but stopped short as Barret continued, "Cloud, you set the charges."

"What?" Cloud sputtered, completely and unabashedly taken by surprise. "Shouldn't you do it?" he inquired suspiciously.

"Jus' do it!" Barret cut him off, exasperated. "I gotta watch to make sure you don't pull nothin'," he explained half-heartedly.

Cloud, tired of arguing, took the charges, defeated. As he did, he spotted something behind Barret, just below the reactor core. The object was a small orb, glittering green in the pale lights of the dim core. Instinctively, he reached out for it.

But, surprisingly, Barret had seen him spot it. He lunged, snapping up the orb so quickly that Cloud's grasping fingers groped at the spot where it had been even as the triumphant leader arose. He looked up to the smirk of Barret Wallace, who was balancing the orb on his gatling gun while never taking his eyes off of the stunned Ex-SOLDIER. "Property of AVALANCHE," he spoke with an unusually haughty tone in his voice, bouncing the tiny gem into his flesh hand and pocketing the orb. "Get to work," he snapped, motioning towards the reactor.

Cloud, without hesitation, planed the charges on the center of the core's access panel.

"No!" Barret yelled, belatedly trying to stop Cloud as the explosives primed. Alarms rang throughout the core, as a metallic voice echoed high above the rising fracas, "Core Security Roboguard activated."

"Damn!" Barret roared at Cloud. "I thought you said you wuz in a reactor before!"

"I said I had been in one, Wallace, that doesn't mean I ever tried to blow one to hell before!" Cloud defended himself.

At that moment a great crash resounded through the core, and a giant robotic creature descended from its holding cell to the catwalk below as the metallic voice rang its final call before burning out:

"Security Roboguard 'Guard Scorpion' deployed."

*** * * * ***

The Guard Scorpion crashed down onto the catwalk, buckling its supports and sending its two targets flying. Its bright red armor shone ominously, adding to the intimidation that its massive size and scorpion like shell frame imposed.

"Visual sensors activated," came the mechanical sound from the hollows of its 'body'.

Instantaneously, sensor beams fired from two devices planted on each of its arms, their purpose being to track for intruders. They fell soon upon Cloud, who had been just struggling to his feet. He immediately was subjected to a hail of high powered bullets from the Scorpion's Assault Cannons.

The machine's bullets had too much velocity for Cloud's Bronze Bangle to take. They cut straight into Cloud's body, racking it with such force that he remained conscious with body intact due only to the last lingering effects of the Bangle.

Just as all hope seemed to be lost for the warrior, a refreshed feeling began to course its way through his body, while his wounds felt as if they were being washed away from his skin, expunging bullets as they receded. He looked up to discover that Barret was now engaging the armor-clad beast, after having treated him with two of his spare potions. Barret didn't seem to be in very good shape, however…

Barret's bullets weren't doing much visible damage to the Guard Scorpion at all. He had made minimal progress in toppling the beast, however: a well placed burst of bullets had destroyed the Scorpion's left sensor generator. Wisely, Barret now had taken cover on the Roboguard's left behind a jagged piece of metal, forcing its right sensor to flail wildly in an attempt to pin him down. Barret's energy was waning, however, and his enemy was still strong.

"Strife!" he called. "My bullets ain't no match for what the hell this is firing!" Just as he spoke, a lucky shot from the Scorpion's cannons impacted the jagged metal Barret had been using as cover. Barret avoided most of the metal as it bounced from the catwalk into the distance by the impact, but was still damaged as the metal grazed his right arm in the process.

Cloud, witnessing the blow, raised a Potion to toss to Barret when Barret held his gun-arm out in protest. 

"Don't you goddamn dare use that for such a itty-bitty wound! Go!" Barret then ducked down in search for better cover to recuperate, while Cloud nodded affirmatively and prepared to charge the Guard Scorpion.

Cloud, his defense now fully regained, deflected bullets as he pushed up the catwalk to the Scorpion Roboguard. As the weapons concentrated all fire on the attacker, he sprang past them to mere inches from the mech's casing. In one fluid motion he spun to its backside, unfurled one hand, smashed his saber into the Scorpion's right leg with his other hand, and, while gripping it taut, ripped it from the leg with his other arm.

The Scorpion could not withstand this spinning tornado of an assault. It promptly buckled, wrenched, and toppled to its side, crippled. 

"Careful!" Cloud bellowed to Barret as he emerged to attack the machine once more. "It's still active!"

Barret, with renewed vigor, charged towards the mechanical heap, pummeling it with a blindingly rapid rate of fire, determined to force it off of the catwalk and into the noxious green liquid below in its injured state.

As he reached the point blank range, he smashed into the Guard Scorpion with his gun-arm with strength that could only reasonably be described as superhuman. He rushed the thing again, tottering the giant towards the railing. As he prepared for an ultimate assault, however, its tail slowly began to rise even as it was bombarded; while its cannons began to retract at the same time.

Cloud, keenly observing the transpiration, thundered desperately at Barret, "Stop!"

Barret, against all of his natural instincts, stopped his final charge. He turned about slowly, yelling back. "What for?"

"Its visual sensors and turrets are offline," Cloud explained. "Only its motion sensors remain intact. If we move, it'll use all its stored power to use its devastating Tail Laser!"

Barret looked at the Roboguard mammoth again, noting its violently twitching tail and the absence of any other movement except the whir of the sound of a laser unmistakably powering up.

"If it uses that, the catwalk will be destroyed, and we'll both die!" Cloud finished.

"What do we do, then?" Barret asked. He and Cloud stood motionless in the darkness for sometime with nothing but the beeping of the primed bomb breaking the silence. Cloud's eyes then momentarily flashed, and he looked to the sky as he slowly sheathed his sword so as to be completely undetectable.

"Attack without moving," Cloud replied. Bracing his body and concentrating all his mindpower, he cried, "Bolt!", sending a lightning blast into the Scorpion's core.

"Bolt! Bolt!" Each cry heralded a focused charge of highly effective electric energy to the machine before him. The Scorpion was racked by its unseen attacker, flailing wildly to sense any detectable movement at all.

"Get ready!" Cloud called to Barret.

In one final spasm of concentration, Cloud uttered a final "Bolt!" sending down a final lightning strike and fully frying the Scorpion's mechanics. Barret, realizing what was happening, prepared to run for cover, only to find a piece of his old jagged metal cover had lodged itself in his boot. He was completely stuck.

"Barret!" Cloud cried as what was left of the Guard Scorpion Security Roboguard exploded, sending the nearby Barret flying and sprawling mere inches from Cloud's feet.

Cloud rushed to his aid and immediately checked his pulse. _Still alive_, he thought, smiling in spite of himself. _But just barely…_

Cloud almost reluctantly pulled the sparkling feather that he had obtained earlier from his satchel and laid it on Barret's chest. "This is your lucky day," Cloud muttered.

The feather shone on Barret's rippled chest brightly, radiating more and more as brilliantly colored strands of gold magic coursed through the air and into Barret's body. He convulsed, spitting up bright red blood, and looked up at Cloud—only to stagger back as Cloud smashed a potion on his head, then recovered as it healed his wounds as well as the bruise that smashing the potion had inflicted.

"That's for having me waste this on you," Cloud taunted (though only half-joking), waving the now wilted and useless feather in Barret's face. 

Their expressions then changed to lighter ones. They both realized that only by working together had they survived that deadly assault. They continued to examine each other almost graciously, until a loud recurring beeping sound across the destroyed catwalk broke the silence. Barret, his senses fully regained, spoke first. "The Bomb!!!"

"We've only got ten minutes," Cloud said gravely. "And there's no extending the timer, the catwalk's been destroyed by the explosion."

Barret rose to his feet almost immediately, and then looked back at the Guard Scorpion's strewn metallic carcass of twisted parts. Searching the remnants of the Roboguard quickly, he grabbed a turret and held it above him, exclaiming triumphantly. He then strode towards the exit.

"Wha?" was all Cloud could say, bewildered.

I figured I could use this turret to enhance my gun," Barret explained as the ascended the series of chains and ladders to the entrance at the top of the shaft. "This is much more powerful than mine."

As the two climbed the final ladder frantically, Cloud gradually heard cries from below. Immediately suspecting what they were, he grabbed a nearby chain and began to rappel down into the shaft again.

Cloud scanned left and right, descending as quickly as he could. _It should be right…here!_ Cloud sighted the platform where he had seen Jessie on his first descent. Landing with a thud, he looked up to see a fallen Jessie, her foot caught and twisted in a slew of perforated metal.

"Thought you were standing guard," he observed calmly as he slashed through the metal and wrenched her foot free.

"I was, but…" Jessie began indignantly, then blushed crimson when she met Cloud's reproving stare. "Thanks," she finished. She pulled herself to her feet, and opened her monitor to assess the bomb's countdown.

"Oh no!" she cried, aghast. "Only five minutes left until detonation!" She looked up the shaft, as it seemed to stretch for miles upward then looked sadly at her twisted ankle. "We'll never make it to the elevator in time!"

Cloud, refusing to give up after coming so far, had already strung an idea together. His eyes darted up the chain he had descended on, to the pulley above, and then to an interlocking set of weights on the pulley.

_Weights that if released, would send this chain rocketing upwards…_, Cloud thought.

Snatching up Jessie in his arm and grasping the chain with his free hand, Cloud concentrated on the supports for the chain. At full immersion of pure thought, Cloud bellowed "Ice!", freezing the supports.

A split second later the supports shattered, breaking free the weights at the other side of the chain.

"Hold on," Cloud commanded Jessie as they rose with the chain at a blindingly fast speed. Higher and higher they flew up, until at last they leapt at the highest tier, leaving the rest of the chain to whip, crash, and plummet down below them. The elevator was now just across from them, already halfway filled with an irritable and grumpy Barret.

"What the hell!" Barret exclaimed half-wondrously, half-impatiently as the other warrior and his all too willing rescue made their way to the elevator.

"No problem," Cloud said with uncharacteristic cheer as he stepped into the elevator. "Just what I always do."

Barret was still staring at Cloud open-mouthed as the elevator activated.

"Three minutes!" Barret yelled as the elevator opened. Jessie quickly went to work on the security door. Cracking open, the team rushed to the next security door, which Biggs handled. Cloud couldn't help but notice that Jessie had been and was continuing to stare at him all throughout that time.

As the final security door opened, Cloud took point position and headed towards the exit of the reactor proper, slicing through the last ditch defense 1st Ray automatic defense lasers with ease.

Wedge was waiting for them outside at the extraction site. Cloud, Biggs, Barret, and Wedge all dived into the doorway. Jessie, however, preoccupied with he continual staring at Cloud, tripped. Cloud, seeing this, rushed out to save her even as the final seconds ticked down on the bomb's timer.

Helping Jessie up, Cloud whispered, "Stop it!" angrily and, taking her in his arms, dived through the doorway just as the timer hit zero.

As the Sector 1 Reactor rocked and exploded furiously, its crescendo of sounds drowned out the noise of Midgar. The sound was outweighed, however, by the silent, fiery backdrop, rising and blooming into the air like so much pain that it represented.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: All rights to Final Fantasy 7, all respective parties, and virtually anything I write about even remotely related to said topics are copyright of Squaresoft. : (

Final Fantasy VII

Chapter 2: Promise Made Under The Stars

And then there was silence.

Midgar had never been so silent for as long as anybody could remember. The desolate hole itself seemed to hold the moment in awe, the shock of retributive destruction bringing the business of death as usual to an unconditional standstill. The sound of the reactor's destruction had long dissipated, leaving only the rising flames of death to cascade into the air, coloring the broken sky from the inky blackness of death to the red, vengeful palettes of retribution. The sounds of the arrogant helicopters above had retracted; for the brutal skies' coming heralded a grounding of aerial vehicles for fear of what the air could bring next. Cars and motorcycles alike screeched to a halt as the overhanging fire began to blanket the entire sector. The cries and screams faded too as the spreading horror expanded more and more. Murders and conspiracies were put on hold; rapists, pedophiles, and the lower castes of the underworld desisted from their perversions, if only for one brief window of time.

The corrupt had chipped away at the rocks of life's resilience for too long. The mountains of life had absorbed to their fracture points. They could take no more. The rage of fire was devastating. Its retribution was unmistakable.

It was an AVALANCHE.

And it brought the silence with it, one so great and so misplaced that everything that lived and crawled in the chambers of Midgar heard it with amazement. It drifted from the upper tiers, dropped sharply and twisted into the minds of the horrified populous that littered the streets. It snaked into every corridor, every vent, and every piss-soaked ditch that drunkards could possibly writhe in. The silence spread limitlessly, unstoppably, and at long last found a last room of fancy that it crept and crawled into, for last symbolic fitness.

"That should keep the planet going…at least a little longer."

The silence had finally stretched its way into the small corridor where the drained rebels AVALANCHE had taken refuge from their desolate handiwork. The group had sat quietly in their own contained state, while listening captively to the rise of the shattering explosion and the fading of everything else into the total silence that had finally reached the bottom rungs of the newly formed alcove in the labyrinth that had once been called the Sector 1 Reactor.

Cloud looked back over at Barret with an extremely peculiar expression on his face. The man, no, the giant, had accomplished what no other individual or organization had ever come near to doing in history: destroying one of the mainstay reactors of Shinra itself. Barret's triumph, however, wasn't reflected at all in what he had just said. It was broken praise at very best: the small victory of the guerrilla over the empire had apparently too terrible of a cost to be celebrated.

"Yeah," Wedge replied a few moments later. He seemed to be affirming this more for himself than anything, to make himself be sure that their victory had really happened. They had made a difference—a priceless thought, no matter how infinitely small.

_Hopeless..._, was the only word that would come to Cloud's mind on the subject.

Barret, however, stood and nodded silently to his comrades-in-arms and— to Cloud's flimsy observations—seemed to have gained some peace through the completion of the ordeal.

Their stolidness was finally broken as Jessie stood to her feet, signifying that she was finished. The rest of the rebels stood tall in suit.

"Okay," Jessie piped up as loud as she could. "Now everyone get back!" Her voice reverberated through the cramped space, elevating to the priority that it encompassed.

Cloud began to move with the team towards the exit, beginning from a fast trot and escalating to a full sprint. _Jessie was quick with those things_, he thought with slight amiability as he heard a rumble begin behind him. The groan spurred him to effectively double his running speed as he ran through the corridor towards the exit.

Jessie had planted one final, extremely focused bomb. It was, in her words, a so-called 'Cleanup Bomb', used to wipe any traces or inconvenient evidence in its blast radius. Needless to say, it was an invaluable resource for the ragtag rebels who couldn't afford any direct contact with the brunt of Shinra or risk discovery by its operatives.

Cloud was first out of the exit, somersaulting through the explosion's fire and landing with a thud on the even more destroyed pebble pavement. To his surprise, the thick-bodied Barret emerged second from the flames, barreling through the heat with sheer force.

_Wallace…_, Cloud observed curiously as he raised one of his eyebrows slightly. The man's versatility was beginning to interest him, from his strength to his apparently considerable possession of speed.

_There is certainly more to Barret Wallace, leader of AVALANCHE, than meets the eye_, noted Cloud silently.

Biggs and Jessie had followed immediately in unison, bounding over the hurdle of fire and trotting over to their leader. Then the only remaining member unaccounted for was Wedge…

Shortly, a yelp of great pain came form the now brightly flaming tunnel; the cry heralding a frantic Wedge to dive headfirst out to the tunnel in an aflame state.

Soon after bounding out, Wedge rolled repeatedly on the broken and (thankfully) dirty pavement as the fire gradually was smothered out.

_I guess all big guys aren't as versatile as Wallace_, Cloud thought as he smirked unseen, half-amused by the spectacle.

Wedge finally pulled himself to his feet and lumbered over to his team, dusting off his now charred clothing all the way.

"Awright, now let's get outta here," Barret said softly to the group—startling Cloud once again, as it was the softest he had ever heard the bigger man lower his voice to such a level.

"Rendezvous at the Sector 8 station!" bellowed Barret. The command quickly reestablished his authorative voice. "Split up and get on the train!" The team responded immediately to the familiar commands, leaving Cloud and Barret within moments.

Barret began to start away as well when Cloud reached out for him aggressively. "H, hey!" Cloud started to speak.

Barret, however, merely glanced over his broad shoulder and looked at the glow-eyed mercenary with an almost scornful stare. "If it's about your money," he growled, "save it till we're back at the hideout." Satisfied when Cloud did not respond to this last statement, he turned and disappeared into the darkness of a narrow corridor.

Cloud stood in silence there, as hard as any stone while he surveyed the paths to decide which one to take. Just then, a burst and crackle of electricity sounded at the end of a winding road. Figuring that the noise was a signal of better leads than nothing at all, the Ex-SOLDIER threw his choices to Fortune and began to walk upon the aforementioned street.

*** * * * ***

The girl's eyes fluttered open as a stray spark drifted into her eyelash. She instinctively groped about for her flower basket. Feeling it, she rolled over on the pavement to view it more closely. Her look of anticipation turned to one of disappointment as she saw her flowers wilted and crushed on the pavement, save for three that remained in the toppled basket.

Scooping up the basket and its sparse contents in her arms, she struggled to stand, coughing forcefully as she did so. She stood for a moment, trying to remember what had happened.

_Of course_, she thought frustratedly. It would have been better to have just forgotten the whole thing: the sky of fire blocking out the endless night, the panic, the silence…

_And then the screams_, the young woman reflected painfully. She unconsciously flinched as she did so.

_At first the voices had been pleasant, at least_, she rationalized as rationally as she could. Masses of people breathing relieved sighs, as if they had been freed from some terrible enslavement. Voices had cheered all around, uplifting the dumbfounded, yet somehow comprehending flower girl.

Then, from another venue of her mind, screams and shrieks began to replace the happier sounds. Soon they overpowered the slim frame of the girl that they were contained within as well. Finally, she had collapsed to the cold ground, exhausted.

Despite all this, the petite flower merchant breathed a sigh of happy relief in spite of herself. _If it had been Midgar at any other time, _she thought, _the consequences for collapsing indiscretionately in the streets would have been far direr._

She giggled softly, even as she looked over all of the carnage before her. Even the once prominent flashing 'Loveless' signs had overheated, causing them to burst into showers of flaming sparks (one of which having jolted her awake). She always knew, it seemed, how to make the best of a bad situation, she considered.

Looking around, she spotted a taller than average looking man running towards her. Intending to inquire about exactly what had transpired earlier, she approached him confidently. She cried out angrily then when the man barreled into her, knocking her down, then fleeing in hysteria. The flower girl twice breathed in deeply to calm her nerves, and began to dust herself off yet again.

Cloud saw the girl as soon as he entered the open plaza. As she strode to a man, one possessed by little more than reckless fear, he saw her roughly knocked to the ground and left by the same person. Sighing heavily, he walked over to her and outstretched his hand.

The girl began to recoil immediately as the hand pushed towards her. Cloud grimaced, and chastised himself as soon as he noticed. _God, I'm so stupid. You don't just come up to anybody for no visible reason or intent in Midgar: not unless you're one of the less desirable beings of perversion._

The stoic fighter had been accurate in his judgment in one respect. The girl had indeed retreated from his outstretched hand, thinking it to be some unforgiving Shinra possessed by some sick fantasy and want. However, her whole attitude changed as soon as she saw his face.

She was completely and unequivocally stunned by what she had dared to look upon. Though she knew she had never seen the man before, thoughts began to circulate in her head unbidden about him.

_He's…_

_No_, she though immediately and decisively. Not ever would she be taken into those thoughts again, no matter what.

_But…his eyes, his hair, his face, his…look!_

She examined his face closely now, watching intently. Suddenly she recognized the look on his face.

_He's angry at himself…angry that he upset me_, she thought wondrously. Such kindness in Midgar, no less in the midst of a catastrophe, was not what she had expected.

Declining his outstretched hand politely, the green-eyed flower merchant lifted up off of the pavement and stood firmly as she looked up to the mystery man once more. This time she looked resolutely, through all of her fear, straight into the ominous glow of this enigma's eyes.

Cloud shifted his weight nervously. The situation was becoming quite uncomfortable for him. While the slender woman in front of him had been frightened of the Ex-SOLDIER that had loomed before her moments ago, now her entire attitude towards him had changed. From just another scared being of the depths she now approached him boldly—even amiably, he now concluded.

_What gives? _he thought perplexedly.

"Excuse me?" the girl inquired softly, wrenching Cloud from his wandering glance to her direct attention. 

The girl uttered an inaudible gasp and steadied her frenzied thoughts. Despite his imposing nature, the girl found his presence unthreatening. She spoke again to the blonde with renewed vigor.

"What happened?" she finally asked. She verged on chastising herself for asking such an inane question. He probably didn't know a thing! Just as scared as everyone else.

_Well_, she realized inwardly while gazing at the raw image of power and exuding confidence before her, _that's probably not true._

Cloud was almost violently thrust back into his present situation, and realized the impending danger all around. He resolved to stop—interacting—with this young waif-like female.

In a firm, deep, and superbly authorative tone, Cloud powerfully warned, "You'd better get out of here."

This did not evoke a positive response from his listener. She turned her look of inquiry to one of coldness; slightly startling Cloud despite his newly established stoicism. She turned away silently, and stood a half foot distant from him without moving a muscle.

_As if she wasn't used to danger! _she thought haughtily. Probably thinks that I'm just some weak, frail child that has never even seen real danger. He doesn't see the battle-hardened, war-scarred warrior before him. She scoffed. She wouldn't leave.

_Or was it_, flitted a thought into her mind as she resolved, _that she couldn't leave?_

Cloud viewed the new coldness of the flower girl with increasing uncomfortability. He knew then he should have just left her there, let her stubbornness become her downfall. Yet despite all his reasoning, he kept feeling that he couldn't leave the situation as was. His eyes shifted to the girl's frayed basket of flowers, and he pondered a moment.

"Don't see many flowers around here," he blurted without thinking. Yet even as internal reprimands mobilized as the words passed and lingered in the air, he realized what he had just said had been completely true. The choking pollution of Midgar had killed most life from the hardiest weeds to the world-weary elderly and asthmatic indiscriminately. None of those things existed in Midgar any longer. So, how did flowers somehow bloom in the dank pit?

The flower girl turned back to face Cloud slowly, against all her natural impulses to whirl about instantly. Her elation was near peaked as it had ever been. During any danger, whether it was simple murder or mass manhunts for rebel factions, no one, not even her regular buyers had ever even bothered to pay interest in her flowers. Now this man, out of the flames of the largest catastrophe she had ever witnessed in Midgar, had strode with his powerful uncertain gait to her, helped her to her feet, and showed interest in her last ragged and remaining flowers as well as her.

"Oh, do you like them?" she asked, hoping with all her heart on nothing more than the cheap poppies nestled in her basket. She swallowed hard. "They're only a gil…"

Cloud forgot himself in those next brief moments. He stared directly into the jade liquid sea that were her eyes, and flashed a full-fledged smile from ear to ear.

"All right!" he said boisterously, more so than even he could ever recall himself saying.

The flower girl remained motionless in joy, and flashed a gorgeous smile of her own. "Oh, thank you!" was all she could manage to force out of her lips. Yet just as she said that her happiness turned apprehensively to anxiety as she lifted her basket slowly to the stranger's eyes. She only hoped their remnants would seem too tattered as to completely repulse her prospective buyer.

"Wow!"

That hadn't been the response she had anticipated. She moved her sight quickly to the contents of the basket to ascertain if the exclamation had stemmed from some bedazzling sight or an astonishing atrocity.

Fortunately, the result happened to be the former. Though yes, most of the flowers had been shredded and strewn into unrecognizable mulch, three of the seller's most beautiful roses had been preserved intact, weaving through the destroyed petals of the others. The sight could only be described as breathtaking, for no other adequate description could be formulated at the time (mostly due to lack of breath).

"Wow," the awestruck young woman repeated. She looked back to her buyer and recovered herself promptly. "There's not much of a selection, is there?" she apologized good-naturedly. "Fine…I'll make you a one time offer: these three roses for just one gil."

"Huh?" Cloud was still not used to being taken aback in initial meetings as he had been in this one. "Well, just one flower seems more than fair…"

The girl opposite him motioned insistently. This time, he realized, she was unmistakably inflexible.

"Alright," Cloud conceded, though his smile still remained intact. "A three-for-one deal, I guess."

The girl giggled, satisfied, and handed the three flowers to the man of shimmering blue eyes.

Likewise, the Ex-SOLDIER handed a coin to her, dropping it softly into her soft, supple hands. She happily plunked the coin into her inside pocket, failing to realize it was a 100 gil coin the man had handed her and not a one gil coin as they had agreed upon.

Cloud looked at the flowers and back to her one last time. His smile softened and he finally spoke in a low voice, "Could you get out of here now, please?" Her smile started to fade again, when he added in a quick whisper, "Please—trust me."

She knew he—and the situation was serious, more than ever before. _Okay_, she thought. _Irregardless…it's been worth it. _

Giving one last glance, she turned and disappeared into the shadows.

*** * * * ***

The warrior turned about as well and walked briskly away through the plaza, clutching the flowers to his chest. He couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled so long. His smile and his mood, however, both vanished when the green flickering clock above rang out a resounding gong—the sounding of the last call for the Sector 8 train.

_What the…shit! _Cloud cursed inwardly as his actions of the last few minutes were brought into perspective mentally. _The train's going to leave! What the hell was I thinking? I shouldn't have even talked to her, let alone let her distract me from the mission. _He closed his eyes and made a silent vow as he ran.

_Never again…_

Cloud dashed down the alleys of Sector 8 at his full speed, never slowing for a second. He hardly even noticed as he went flying by the entrance to the train station below him. He turned to enter it, only to find himself confronted with two MPs of the newly arrived Shinra reinforcements.

"Damn it!" Cloud screamed, and then concentrated quickly. Using all of the power that he could gather at his disposal, he let out a forceful call of "Ice!". The spell's strength created a thick sheet of ice, impeding the Shinra's pursuit.

Sensing that things were about to get rough, Cloud tucked the three flowers into the folds of his uniform. As if on cue, three MPs approached from two adjacent streets. Cloud raised his sword menacingly in response.

The train whistle then sounded fiercely.

Cloud glared angrily again and wheeled about, taking off in the other direction in a desperate attempt to reach the train. His hopes were dashed when a complement of soldiers emerged from that direction as well. The final touch of the attacking vice was then completed as a barrage of gunfire blew apart the obstruction of ice in the alley from which he had first emerged.

The newly formed troop of guards advanced confidently. Cloud wasn't intimidated in the least, but was confounded by one problem—how to reach the train in time? At last Cloud reached an edge, an impassable one that precipitated over a deep chasm. He thought frenzically then felt his spirits fall as he heard the train's final whistle: the signal of the starting of its massive engine.

The guards that now completely surrounded him chuckled. "That's as far as you go," the lead Enforcer spoke up.

Cloud was almost now ready to agree. He looked over the edge, down into what seemed to be an endless valley, a symbol of no escape.

_Or did it?_ he questioned. The sounds of the train had risen with time, all but confirming the mercenary's conjecture.

He listened longer and looked the lead MP directly in his eyes. "I don't have time to be messin' around with you guys," he boasted.

The lead MP was infuriated. "Enough babbling! Get him!" he commanded just as a high screech of the train whistle cut through the darkness.

Cloud turned on his heel and, without hesitation, jumped into the chasm. He fell a long way, seeing nothing at the bottom but black. He waited longer as the air rushed past him and his body spun wildly. Girder by girder flew by in sequence, till all seemed lost. And then he saw it…

_The railroad tracks! _Cloud thought triumphantly. The train did follow down this desolate valley. _Although it could still easily become one of desolate death_, he noted. _C'mon_, he wished desperately as he saw the railroad tracks grow closer and closer.

The train seemed to appear from under his feet, just as his boots hit the cold metal of its topside. 

The impact forced him to kneel into a squatting position: a double boon, for just as he landed the train zoomed into the tunnel. If he hadn't been kneeling, he wouldn't have cleared the tunnel.

_Fortune favors Strife again_, he reflected only half sarcastically as the dimming lights of Sector 8 disappeared from view.

*** * * * ***

The train storage car hung in a dead, overhanging silence as the train veered towards the Sector 7 slums. Its passengers (though more or less stowaways) looked dejectedly about as the clacking sounds of the train began to recur in an audible pattern.

"Cloud never came."

Wedge was the first to speak, he always being the least emotionally perceptive member of the group. None of his AVALANCHE teammates looked over to him, however, letting the statement rest in the air.

"Cloud…wonder if he was killed?"

Biggs spoke up next, this time suggesting the awful possibility that had lingered at the edges of the minds of every person in the car. This statement, unlike the first however, was met with vociferous response.

"No way!" declared Barret loudly, as if to try to fill the mournful silence that filled the car.

Jessie sighed heavily. "Cloud…," she whispered.

No one even ventured a minor response. Barret observed her sadly. He hadn't seen her this down in a long time, not since some of her closest teammates had been killed in the bid to gain the access codes to the Sector 1 Reactor. He felt more pained over that. AVALANCHE, as much as he acted callously towards them, were like brothers and sisters to the big man.

"Say, do you think Cloud's…," Biggs spoke up again, "going to fight to the end for AVALANCHE!?"

Barret had reached his limit for the inanity of his teammates and their comments. "The hell would I know!?" Barret exploded. "Do I look like a mind reader?"

With this response, the car once again plummeted into silence. Barret slammed his gun-arm angrily on the crate he leaned against, muttering loudly.

"Hmph!! If y'all weren't such screw-ups…"

"Hey Barret?" Wedge inquired in typical emotional ignorance. "What about our money…?

Barret stare at Wedge incredulously, and then brutally slammed his metal appendage into the crate again, this time with so much force that the crate splintered significantly from the impact.

Wedge finally got the hint to shut up. "Uh, nothin'…sorry." He slunk back into his previously occupied corner and began to sulk with his leader anew.

As if from nowhere, a yell began to be heard throughout the silence of the cabin. In an almost ghost-like fashion, it rose and fell with the repeated clacking of the train, making it easier for the downtrodden AVALANCHE rebels to ignore.

Then, suddenly, ignorance no longer became an option as the door to the train car was assaulted by violent pounding that reverberated throughout the car. The team's attention turned to the door raptly as it happened. The door then creaked and groaned again and again, mesmerizing the apprehensive passengers.

At last, the door flew open, giving the AVALANCHE team little time to gawk or gape as a figure vaulted and performed a flipping dive into the interior of the train.

The entire team, sans Barret, let out a cry in unison. "Cloud!" they all exclaimed, though Jessie's cry took on a considerably more sublime tone.

Cloud looked about the storage car, exhausted from forcing the door open and swinging into the cabin atop the speeding train. He glanced at each member one by one, until he finally looked at their leader face to face. He straightened himself up and placed his hand to the side arrogantly. "Looks like I'm a little late," was the first thing he said to the newly reunited group.

"You damn right, you're late!" came the furiously spat reply. Barret scoffed at Cloud's apathy, yelling, "Come waltzin' in here makin' a big scene!"

"It's no big deal," Cloud mildly said unfazedly. He shrugged. "Just what I always do."

The repetition of what he had said earlier at the reactor renewed Barret's anger once more. "Shit!" he now angrily spoke at a new level of pitch. Recalling the dejected faces of Biggs, Wedge, and especially Jessie that had stemmed from the mercenary's no-show, his frustration rose to new quantity. "Havin' everyone worried like that," he thundered, "you don't give a damn bout no one but yourself!"

The car then sat in silence once more for a short time Barret was almost satisfied that Cloud was expressing regret, when the fighter abruptly interjected the silence.

"Hmm…," he murmured, then grinned sportingly. "You were worried about me!"

"Wha?" This last taunt jabbed Barret's pride like no other before it. The acuteness of such a reply spurred Barret to resort to the only threat that the apathetic warrior would care about. "I'm takin' it outta your money, hot stuff!"

Cloud looked over at him silently, and wisely decided to wait awhile before he interacted with the impatient man again. Barret, finally satisfied, took authority once more. "Wake up!" he bellowed to his fellow teammates, who were still staring wondrously at Cloud. "We're movin' out!" he continued. "Follow me!"

And with that, Barret jumped over the connecting barrier between the two cars and disappeared. Almost immediately, Biggs and Wedge crowded around Cloud in a veritable chattering frenzy.

"Hey, Cloud!"

"Heh, heh…Cloud!"

The warrior stepped back from his jubilant comrades, trying to deflect the barrage of accolation and praise.

"You were great back there!"

"We'll do even better next time!"

At long last, Biggs and Wedge both looked at each other, nodded respectively to Cloud, and followed their leader out of the car.

Only Jessie and Cloud now remained in the storage car. Cloud stood staunchly still in the car, steadfast despite the rushing air that pushed into him form the open side door. He heard Jessie walk up behind him, however, even over the rising winds.

"Be careful," she warned Cloud softly, "I'll shut this." Grabbing the handle of the door, she pulled the door shut and latched it securely. She and Cloud then simultaneously turned to face one another.

"Oh, Cloud!!" Jessie said softly. Cloud looked back in silent confusion. Jessie smiled. "Your face is pitch-black…," she explained. Cloud's confusion vanished as he now remembered vividly the stinging soot and filth that had clouded his vision atop the sweltering roof of the train.

To Cloud's surprise, Jessie procured a handkerchief and began to wipe Cloud's face. Cloud stood in an almost petrified silence at what she was doing, feeling the soft fingers through the flimsy material graze his face. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Jessie smiled broadly and proclaimed proudly, "There you go!"

She turned and spun around Cloud in an almost dance-like motion. Hopping up onto the barrier to leave, she stopped and looked at Cloud once more.

"Say, thanks for helping me back there at the reactor!" she thanked the warrior. Smiling graciously, she whirled about once more and left the car at last.

Cloud shook himself from his stony silence and stretched upwards, recovering from all of the events that had transpired and proven quite exciting even to the seasoned Ex-SOLDIER that he was. He looked to the connecting barrier, took in one more deep breath, and leapt up to join his team in the adjacent car.

The trains of Midgar had never been particularly renowned for any semblance of peaceful transportations. Those that dared to ride the rails, so to speak, were quite used to the locomotive's wrinkles of misdemeanors and crimes. 

So, it was quite notable whenever something could actually faze the hardened riders of the train. Such an occurrence transpired momentarily as Barret Wallace threw the door of the transport car violently. Charging in with such confidence as to deter all around him, he drove off most of the passengers into the next car, leaving only a homeless bum and a half-asleep businessman that had missed his stop long ago in the car, along with a dumbfounded train employee. The employee sighted the man and sighed.

"This is why I hate the last car. Hoo-boy…"

He then turned and followed the other scared passengers into the next car.

Immediately afterwards, Wedge, Biggs, Jessie, and Cloud respectively all entered the car, and began to disperse and relax. Cloud began to walk slowly down the corridor as well, listening to a mechanical voice ring out over the intercom.
    
    "Last train out of Sector 8 Station," the voice stated monotonously. "Last stop is Sector 7 slums, Train Graveyard. Expected time of arrival is 12:23AM, Midgar Standard Time..."
    
    _Shinra_, Cloud reflected. _Only Shinra would officially state the colloquial remarks of 'slums' and 'train graveyard' without any regard to the repercussions of the people. Guess one doesn't really have to be too euphemistic with slaves._
    
    Cloud wandered about the car, trying to find something to do to pass the time until the train would reach Sector 7. Spotting Jessie, he saw her toying with some monitor on the far side of the train car. He walked over to her and stood beside her as she pressed and clicked various buttons on the screen.
    
    Jessie noticed Cloud almost immediately. Without taking her eyes off of the screen, she said frankly, "Hey, Cloud. You want to look at this with me?"
    
    Cloud remained motionless, which Jessie knew by now to be a grudging affirmative. "It's a map of the Midgar Railing System," she explained. "Let's look at it together. I'll explain it to you." She was being redundant, plain, even boring. Cloud appreciated the mood, though. He and Jessie both knew it was better to play it safe, talk shop in a Shinra monitored vehicle. Jessie smiled, and began to continue. "I like this kinda stuff. Bombs and monitors... you know, flashy stuff."
    
    A small beep spouted from the monitor, and green outlines began to flicker on the screen. "Okay, it's about to start," Jessie observed as the outlines began to make up a complex virtual model of towers, buildings, girders, trails, and prongs. Jessie stirred slightly as the final touches to the small yet superbly intricate model were made. "This is a complete model of city of Midgar. It's about 1/10000 scale." She stopped as she and Cloud looked at the model in silent awe, trying to imagine it 10,000 times bigger. "The top plate is about 50 meters above ground," she continued plainly to dissuade any attention. Cloud nodded with every sentence, absorbing the knowledge that any person growing up in Midgar would have known from early childhood. One had to be knowledgeable to survive, of course. "A main support structure holds the plate up in the center, and there are other support structures built in each section."
    
    Cloud listened to her describe the basic workings of Midgar, letting the sounds of the words calm him as he traced the Midgar map in his mind. To the north, he saw the outline of what had once been the Number 1 Reactor, an eighth of Midgar's power combined into one jam-packed facility. Of course, that meant that seven eighths of Midgar's power was still active, produced by the other newer, and almost certainly now more heavily guarded reactors. It was amazing, mind-blowing, and was even more so when he considered that someone was actually trying to challenge that power.
    
    "Each town used to have a name, but no one in Midgar remembers them," Jessie continued in her list of Midgar's details. "Instead, we refer to them as numbered sectors." Cloud realized that that was one of the key aspects that made Midgar exactly what it was._ No past_, he thought cynically, _that's what kind of place this is._
    
    "Look!" Jessie remarked as the train's screen began to change. A dotted line began to trace itself in a twisting motion throughout the Midgar that was plastered to the screen. "This is the route this train is on," Jessie commented. "The route spirals around the main support structure. We should be coming around the center area, right now," Jessie remarked pointedly as a blip showed up on the central pillar overlapping the path.
    
    "Hey, this means we should be almost at the next security checkpoint," Jessie realized. Still in the mood from detailing, she continued. "At each checkpoint, an ID sensor device is set up. It can check the identities and background on each and every passenger on the train by linking it up to the central data bank at Shinra Headquarters." She looked over to Cloud and whispered, "Anyone could tell that we look suspicious, so we're using fake ID's." She grinned. "My own personal invention, I might say." 
    
    Cloud began to see for the first time Jessie's absolute vitality to the AVALANCHE team. Brute force, manpower—those were great, but not as rare as the talent she had with technology. Barret had Shinra-class talent with him, that was for sure. Another time, another life, and just maybe…
    
    Cloud's thoughts were interrupted by a loud screeching sound, followed by a flashing red strobe light that reflected throughout the train. Jessie's words echoed his thoughts. "Speak of the devil…," she commented nervously despite the protection her craftsmanship provided.  "That light means we're in the ID Security Check area." She continued detailing as before, whispering, "When the lights go out, you'll never know what creeps'll come out." She realized then her rambling, and calmed herself just as Cloud had beforehand. "Well, we're almost back now," she said with renewed cheer. "That's a relief."
    
    Cloud nodded to her and began to leave. "Hey," Jessie suddenly said, much more cautiously than she had been talking previously. As Cloud turned back, she continued, "Next time I think I'll make your ID card extra special."
    
    Cloud nodded. If there was one thing that would be good for the operation, it would be to encourage her technological prowess. Putting on a slight smile, he agreed, "Looking forward to it."
    
    Jessie beamed at the affirmative. "All right," she said excitedly. "I'll put in some extra care and make it with a BANG." The last word reverberated throughout the cabin, and Jessie laughed at her own anticipation. "Wow," she commented, "after talking with you, I really want to do it. I think you've lit my fuse!"
    
    Cloud raised one eyebrow perplexedly as she said this, and Jessie realized the awkwardness of the statement as well. Blushing furiously, she nodded to Cloud, and he began to walk aimlessly to the other end of the train's car.
    
    "Stop acting like a little kid." Barret's voice suddenly stopped Cloud as he inched to the other end of the car. Startled, Cloud turned to the relaxing Barret on the seats of the car.
    
    Barret pointed to the seats on the train's opposite side. He grimaced upwards at the standing Cloud. "Sit down and shu'up," he commanded.
    
    Barret fumbled around, and looked out the window of the train. "Look...," he observed with rancor, "you can see the surface now. This city don't have no day or night. If that plate weren't there... we could see the sky."
    
    Cloud looked out of the window in turn, and saw the ominous ceiling of the Plate above him. To his surprise, his feelings at that moment did what he least expected them to do: sympathize with Barret. "A floating city…," Cloud said uneasily. "Pretty unsettling scenery."
    
    Barret snapped his head to Cloud's direction in an extremely confused manner. "Huh?" he questioned rhetorically. Continuing, he stated, "Never expect ta hear that outta someone like you." He chuckled, then guffawed with new vigor at the observation. "You jes' full of surprises."
    
    Barret's mood then became more somber. "The upper world... a city on a plate...," he reflected slowly, then felt his fury rise. "It's 'cuz of that fucking 'pizza', that people underneath are sufferin'!" he burst out, all the pent up rage for Shinra beginning to be expressed. "And the city below is full of polluted air. On topa that, the Reactor keeps drainin' up all the energy."
    
    Just as Barret was about to continue with even more grievances, Cloud interrupted him with a question, one that he had wondered the answer to for a long time, one that was not allowed to be asked in Shinra. "Then why doesn't everybody just move onto the Plate?" he asked expectantly.
    
    Barret opened his mouth as if to present some great point of how Shinra kept the lower classes down, then stopped. "Dunno," he said cluelessly. He thought harder then, trying to come up with the reasons. He then looked at Cloud again and shrugged. "Probably 'cuz they ain't got no money." He looked out at the city again, more dejectedly than Cloud had ever seen him. "Or, maybe...," he started softly, "'Cuz they love their land, no matter how polluted it gets."
    
    Cloud had a significantly different outlook on the situation, molded from Barret's last response. "I know," he said with great levity. "No one lives in the slums because they want to. It's like this train. It can't run anywhere except where its rails take it." And with that last statement, the members of AVALANCHE sat in absolute silence and wondered where each of their trains would take them.
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    The massive locomotive finally ground to a halt at a dim platform that had once contained the remnants of a station. Its passengers began to shuffle out of the front car, some eager and others apprehensive.
    
    The rebels of AVALANCHE were eager.
    
    Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, and even Barret bounded out of the train, wandering about in elation until Barret finally called each of them over to him, yelling "Yo! Get over here, all'ya!" Meanwhile, Cloud had exited the train as well, albeit not as excitedly as the others.
    
    As Cloud approached, he could already hear Barret addressing his team, purposefully bolstering their morale and preparing them already for their next mission. Already as he came closer, he could hear Barret saying, "This mission was a success." He continued warningly, however, "But don't get lazy now. The hard part's still to come! Don't y'all be scared of that explosion!" He finished powerfully. "'Cause the next one's gonna be bigger than that!" With that, he looked over his shoulder and stood tall. "Meet back at the hideout!!" he roared. "Move out!"
    
    With that, the rebels happily ran towards their hideout, hooting and hollering the entire way. Cloud followed quickly as well, dashing away from the station and through the desolation of the slums. The absence of any infrastructure, and the abundance of junked metal characterized the scenery, filling the mind and limiting the senses. 
    
    Cloud was now running so fast to catch up that he did not notice any of that at the time. He also did not see or notice as he crashed into a strange looking man who was asleep on a metal barrel.
    
    "Hey now!" the man protested as Cloud tripped over him, sending both of them falling to the dust. "Oops!" he cried as he and his barrel tipped over and hit Cloud in turn, until both of them comprised a quite comical mess in such a definitively uncomical place.
    
    Cloud stood up, annoyed at the man who had caused him to fall, and pushed him off of his body violently. "Just butt out…geez!" the man exclaimed as he tumbled again to the floor. He seemed ready to protest, when his demeanor suddenly changed as he seemed to realize something.
    
    "Huh?" he said with a twinkle in his worn eyes. "You came to see it, too?" He gestured to his right, and as Cloud's eyes followed the gesture he saw the pillar that held the slums together in its decrepitness. It held the plate above, held the power of the rich upon the backs of the poor. Cloud's annoyance turned to thoughtfulness.
    
    The man saw his awe, and spoke up again, this time ominously. "There was a bombing on top," he said sadly. "The world's seeming to just come apart these days." His voice rose and mused, "If this pillar should ever come down, everyone in the slums is dust…"
    
    Cloud knew that what the man, however crazy he was, had a terrible point. Shinra was terrible, awful; it built upon the backs of helpless slaves. So built up, it seemed, that if it were to ever topple, everything else could go down with it. Hopelessness, it seemed, was the only way to ever characterize fighting such power. That, and foolishness. 
    
    _AVALANCHE incarnate_, he concluded.
    
    "Well, there's no point in worrying about that," said the man, coming to a conclusion as well. "Hey!!" he pointed out on a lighter note, "Check it out! It's huge, ain't it?"
    
    Cloud at least found solace in the fact that it would take a far greater quantity of explosives than had been used on the Number 1 reactor for anybody other than Shinra to destroy the pillar. Its size bordered on unbelievability, its structure a twisted reinforced pillar that remained the most powerful structure in the slums. In a way, it was the most pleasurable thing to look at in the slums.
    
    The man seemed to agree as well. "Hey…," he softly related, "This is a strange and wonderful place." He turned happily to Cloud. "This is my place, but you can come here when you want." He stood and extended his hand, which Cloud shook slowly. He then took off towards the municipal portion of the slums. "See ya, bro!!" he called back as he trotted away to wherever he lived, house or not.
    
    "Yo, Cloud!" Barret's voice pierced through the slums. The young fighter turned around to see the dark man staring at him from the municipal portion of the slums as well. "Over here, now!" he boomed.
    
    Cloud shrugged, and began to slowly jog past Barret and towards the hideout once more.
    
    The Seventh Heaven was the only bar in the Sector 7 slums, if one discounted the fact that most of the residents' habitats carried more liquor than the bar itself. Still, the quality of the drinks and the side food was top-notch, which gave it a more than steady stream of customers and visitors that came from all venues of the slums.
    
    But the night of the Sector 1 bombing would be a slow night for the Seventh Heaven. Just as many of its regulars were beginning to settle in for a nice drink with whatever money they had happened to scrounge up earlier in their daily lives, the front saloon-style swinging door flung open to herald the arrival of the AVALANCE rebels. Shooting into the air and causing general mayhem, none of the Seventh Heaven customers were yet drunk enough to ignore the chaos, and were forced out of the bar.
    
    Cloud Strife had arrived at the bar last, and did so just in time to see the last woozy, half-drunk customer tossed out of the bar by Barret himself, despite doing so with only one arm.
    
    "Aw, man…I can't even have myself a going away party?"
    
    Cloud looked over at the regular Johnny with disdain. As long as he had known him, he had been nothing but spineless. He was now leaving to seek his fortune, to make something of himself. While Cloud knew that took courage, he seriously doubted if he could do it.
    
    Shrugging, he straightened himself as best he could, and strolled past the now patrolling Barret into the Seventh Heaven.
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    "Papa!"
    
    A squeal of joy, followed by a gasp of disappointment were the first sounds to greet Cloud as he pushed the door to the bar open.
    
    _Marlene_, he noted as he strode in. She was Barret's 'daughter', the reason he fought for AVALANCHE, the planet, and pretty much his motivation for anything he did. She was young, perhaps only six or seven, with short brown hair and extremely fair skin. Though Cloud was confused of how Barret could claim fatherhood over somebody so fair, he realized that he must have had his reasons, and in everything but name, he was indeed her father.
    
    Marlene hadn't warmed up to Cloud much ever since he had come to the Sector 7 slums, avoiding him altogether as her father and him hadn't gotten along much even when he first had come. Not breaking character now, Marlene turned and scurried away into a corner, and resumed playing with her toy jacks.
    
    "Marlene! Aren't you going to say anything to Cloud?" The inquiry was followed by the entrance of a young, beautiful woman from behind the bar's counter. She took one more look at the stubbornly unmoving girl, and then turned to Cloud. She was extremely fair skinned, even more so than Marlene, and her skin was almost completely unblemished, save for a visible scar from shoulder to torso. Her eyes were almost completely unblemished, so devoid of pigment that although they were a light brown; they seemed to turn a rich, almost luminescent red in certain light. Her hair was extremely dark, completely the opposite of her skin, and shimmered long and thick until it parted at the end in a tiny dolphin tail. She wore a tight tank top, cut at the waist and anchored to a pair of extremely tight shorts. The entire outfit gave extreme versatility to her body, and was also matched by well-worn, highly developed boots and thick gloves chosen to accentuate power rather than beauty. Her whole body was slender and yet strong, with a powerful chest, arms and legs underlying the apparent helplessness one perceived on first impression.
    
    "Welcome home, Cloud Strife."
    
    _Home?_
    
    "Good to be back, Tifa Lockheart." 
    
    Tifa Lockheart, manager of Seventh Heaven and friend of Cloud Strife now stood in front of him expectantly, practically glowing from Cloud's success and taking his breath away at the same time.
    
    "Looks like everything went well," Tifa happily observed. Her expression changed to a playful form, and she said very quietly (yet without losing her cheer), "Did you fight with Barret?"
    
    "Not this time," Cloud lied. He knew that even as a joke the news could burden her, and the last thing he wanted to be was a burden—again.
    
    She stopped and looked at him seriously, then beamed at him, happily satisfied. "You've grown up," she observed delightfully (and perhaps erroneously). "When you were little you used to get into fights at the drop of a hat."
    
    Cloud laughed softly and looked back at her. "So you noticed."
    
    With no further adieu, Cloud removed his bandolier and shoulder pad, as well as the extra armor and clothing sans the Bronze Bangle. In doing so, one of the roses that he had bought from the flower girl atop the Plate protruded from the folds of his clothing.
    
    Tifa spotted the rose immediately. "Flowers? How nice...," she commented. "You almost never see them here in the slums." She looked at the flower again, and began to examine it. Looking back to Cloud good-naturedly, she playfully inquired, "But... a flower for me? Oh Cloud, you shouldn't have..."
    
    Cloud smiled, declining to mention that he had bought all three for himself. "No big," he coolly stated, handing her the flower and watching an expression of complete joy appear on her face.
    
    "Thank you, Cloud," she almost whispered to him. She took a big whiff of the plant, and sighed at the fragrance. "It smells wonderful," she observed contentedly. "Maybe I should fill the store with flowers…"
    
    "Maybe…," Cloud replied as he procured his other flowers and, deciding to keep the one he liked most, gave the other one to Marlene. "Here you go," he offered graciously.
    
    Marlene took it slowly and retreated in an inverse level of speed. "Sorry, Cloud," Tifa apologized for her. "Marlene seems a bit shy I guess."
    
    After a few minutes of eating, drinking and discussing the finer points of what life without Shinra would be like with Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, Cloud decided to go outside and look for Barret to see what had happened to him—as well as collect his pay.
    
    Just as he was about to leave, the door swung open as Barret entered the bar and eliminated the need for the Ex-SOLDIER to look for his pay. Marlene ran over to the man and jumped into his bear-like arms, as he laughed heartily and lifted her up onto his shoulders.
    
    "Papa, welcome home!" she squealed in even more joy than when she had first mistakenly thought he had arrived when Cloud had.
    
    "Yeah," Barret said, completely relieved that he had made it back to be with his daughter. He twirled her around in his arms and listened to her jingle-like laughter, smiling broadly as he did. Suddenly, something in his daughter's hands caught his attention.
    
    "Huh? Where'd you get that flower?" Barret asked as he saw the rose in Marlene's tiny hand.
    
    Marlene hesitated, and then admitted slowly, "Cloud gave it to me."
    
    "Oh," Barret said almost disappointedly. Then, much more lively, he asked, "Did you thank him?"
    
    Marlene blushed slightly, and then turned to Cloud with an uncertain smile on her face. "Thank you, Cloud," she thanked him in a high-pitched, just as uncertain tone.
    
    "You're welcome, Marlene," Cloud replied with good humor.
    
    Marlene's smile became a fully developed one. She nodded to him authoritavely, and spoke up in a strained 'mature' voice, "We'll take care of you." This statement caused the rest of the group to erupt in controlled laughter.
    
    Tifa strolled up to Barret, her flower still in hand. "You all right, Barret?" she asked with an air of finality.
    
    "Great!" he responded with a flourish of his gun-arm. He turned to face his sitting group. "Get in here, fools!" he commanded graciously, though his team moved no more slowly than usual. Barret looked on them contentedly. "We're starting the meeting!" he proclaimed.
    
    Saying that, he stepped onto an old pinball machine and pressed a latched button underneath it, causing the machine to sink into an underground hidden lair. Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie all jumped down after him. The machine was momentarily sent up for Cloud as well.
    
    Cloud looked over at Tifa as the machine was sent up. She smiled at his inquisitive look. "Sit down," she said with a grin.
    
    Cloud did as he commanded. _Barret would just have to wait_, he thought mischievously as he settled into the stool in front of her. 
    
    Tifa looked at Cloud momentarily, then started to talk. "How about..," she asked, "something to drink?"
    
    Cloud looked up at her, thought shortly, and then answered at last, "Give me something hard."
    
    Tifa responded at once, taking some of the smallest (yet most potent) bottles off of the shelf, and poured them into a thick goop. Within seconds her limber, slender hands had wrapped about the ingredients as she began to shake and mix them throughout the drink. Finally, she proudly presented the drink to Cloud and set it on the counter next to him.
    
    Cloud took a deep swig of the drink, breathing hard as he did so—the drink was just as potent as it always had been, he reflected. Suddenly Tifa spoke up again as he broke from another sip.
    
    "You know," she stated very plainly, "I'm relieved you made it back okay."
    
    Cloud broke out of a gulp in surprise. "What's with you all of a sudden?" he asked her in a stunned voice. He shrugged as he looked back at her. "That job wasn't even tough."
    
    Tifa smiled slightly and sighed. "I guess not…you were in SOLDIER," she remarked as Cloud took another long sip from his glass. She glanced over to the waiting pinball machine, then back into Cloud's shining blue eyes. "Make sure you get your pay from Barret," she told him as he finished off the last of his drink.
    
    "Don't worry," Cloud said quickly to her. "He stared at her, then stood up and looked away into the darkness. "Once I get that money, I'm outta here.
    
    Tifa winced as he said that. Cloud noticed it, but chose to ignore it and headed towards the pinball machine. He almost reached it when he heard Tifa again.
    
    "Cloud," she asked, "are you feeling all right?"
    
    Cloud hesitated to answer at first, but then said slowly, "Yeah…why?"
    
    Tifa shrugged her shoulders and folded her hands on the table as she settled into a chair. "No reason," she answered. "You just look a little tired I guess."
    
    Cloud still looked at her long afterwards, until Tifa gestured towards the machine. "You'd better go down below," she advised.
    
    Cloud pressed the latched button, and felt himself lowered down into the AVALANCHE headquarters.
    
    The headquarters looked more to Cloud like a ragtag clubhouse than anything else. A punching bag, weights, a big screen television littered the room in all its messiness. In fact, the only things that made the place differ from another club were Jessie's inventions and contraptions, the electronic gizmos having enough legal demerit to them to send a single possessor to the stockyards for the rest of their life. Cloud purposefully strode off of the elevating machine as it rose to the top floor once more. However, just as he saw Barret he heard something else as well—Jessie murmuring to herself as the television network SIN blared continually about the bomb and how the destruction had been far more long reaching than just the infrastructure of the reactor itself.
    
    "Hey, look at the news... What a blast," she commented in awe as the programs showed an amateur video of the bombing again and again. Jessie turned to Cloud with an apprehensive look. "Think that was all because of my bomb? But all I really did was just make it like the computer told me." She reflected, and then gasped. "Oh no! I must've made a miscalculation somewhere. And innocent people paid the price for it…" She began to sob as this revelation began to sink in.
    
    "Hey, now," Cloud said insistently. "You couldn't have known that innocent people were going to lose their lives, and you certainly couldn't have anticipated every problem." He looked into her light blue eyes with his deeper ones. "You didn't mean to kill any innocents on purpose. Instead, you're fighting the ones who are. And next time, you'll be ready," Cloud finished.
    
    Jessie stopped crying. "Hey," she realized, "you're right." She smiled. "And that was my first bomb, too," she said proudly. "Kinda makes me feel proud." Cloud glanced at her once more, and then turned and made his way over to Barret.
    
    As Cloud closed in on Barret, the big man ventured a question. "Yo, Cloud! There's somethin' I wanna ask ya." Cloud nodded for him to continue. Barret, puffing up his chest, asked loudly for everybody to hear, "Was there anybody from fighting us today?"
    
    "None. I'm positive," came Cloud's immediate response.
    
    Barret took the sentence in silently, then spoke up again. "You sound pretty sure," he pressed again.
    
    Cloud stretched, and then said very simply, "If there was anyone from SOLDIER you wouldn't be standing here right now."
    
    Barret advanced on Cloud for the bold statement, being only held back by his remaining senses and Biggs' struggling to restrain him. "Don't you go thinking you so bad jes' cuz you was in SOLDIER," he warned in a very threatening manner. As Biggs continued to try to restrain Barret despite his lack of resistance, Barret visibly annoyed, grabbed Biggs and, losing control, flung him into one of the padded walls (which were seemingly erected for just that purpose) of the hideout.
    
    Barret, turning back to Cloud, continued. "Yeah, you're strong. Probably all them guys in SOLDIER are." He grimaced again, closing the gap between them. "But don't forget that your skinny ass's workin' for AVALANCHE now!" he reminded him. "Don't get no ideas 'bout hangin' on to Shinra."
    
    Cloud looked at Barret disdainfully and replied harshly, "Stayin' with Shinra?" he repeated as he took a menacing step forward. "You asked me a question and I answered it…that's all," he rasped. Within moments he rose to Barret's face, coming within inches. "I'm going upstairs," he told him slowly. "I want to talk about my money." Cloud then turned and wheeled on Barret, leaving him in an old enraged mood that caused him to rain blow after blow once more on his old beat up punching bag.
    
    As Cloud approached the exit, Tifa descended on the pinball machine to the headquarters. Cloud retrospectively realized that she must have had heard most of the argument, and looked away as he began to walk by her.
    
    "Wait, Cloud!" Tifa yelled in an attempt to stop him.
    
    "Tifa!" Barret commanded, "Let him go!" He sneered and lifted his nose at the leaving Ex-SOLDIER. "Looks like he still misses the Shinra!"
    
    Cloud's anger then reached his breaking point as well. "Shut up!" he thundered, throwing Barret and Tifa into a shock. Cloud raised his fist to the air and enunciated his words. "I don't care about either Shinra or SOLDIER!" He then sneered as Barret had done before. "But don't get me wrong! I don't care about AVALANCHE or the Planet for that matter!" Cloud viewed the entire room scornfully, then stepped onto the pinball machine and rode it to the first floor. 
    
    Sending it down, he began to clomp towards the door when he immediately heard the machine start up again. Turning around, he saw a worried Tifa approach him desperately. Cloud braced himself for what was to come soon.
    
    "Listen, Cloud," the ruby-eyed woman pleaded. "I'm asking you. Please join us." She grasped his hand in hers as she talked, a soothing yet insistent question pervading the air.
    
    Cloud removed his hand from her tender grasp, despite his reluctance to do so. "Sorry, Tifa…," he began.
    
    "The planet is dying," Tifa interrupted softly. "Slowly but surely it's dying. Someone has to do something."
    
    "So let Barret and his buddies do something about it," Cloud argued firmly. "It's got nothin' to do with me." He turned, finally to leave once and for all when Tifa burst into a flurry of emotion.
    
    "So!" she huffed in a pained tone. "You're really leaving!? You're just going to walk right out ignoring your childhood friend!?"
    
    "What…?" Cloud winced as she said the words 'childhood friend' to him. Though it pained him, he looked at her straight in the eyes, and roughly said, "Sorry."
    
    Tifa glared insistently at him, before then dejectedly looking to the floorboards of the bar. "You forgot the promise, too," she whispered after a long silence.
    
    "Promise?" Cloud asked automatically, then just as soon wished he hadn't.
    
    "So you DID forget," Tifa proclaimed sadly. She looked at him as she twirled her long raven-colored hair. "Remember…Cloud. It was seven years ago…"
    
    "Remember…," she reminded him gradually. "The well…the stars…the promise…" She looked at his face with her own depressed one. "Do you remember?" she asked hopefully.
    
    "Yeah... back then," he recalled, lifting Tifa's spirits. "I thought you would never come," he continued as he remembered, "and I was getting a little cold."
    
     *** * * * ***
    
    _"Sorry I'm late," Tifa apologized as she approached the sulking Cloud. She smiled a crooked smile at him as she did so. "You said you wanted to talk about something?"_
    
    _Cloud stood and nodded. "Come this spring…," he declared, "I'm leaving this town for Midgar."_
    
    _Tifa sat and shook her head in a depressed manner. "All boys are leaving our town," she stated softly as she sat beside him._
    
    _"But I'm different from all of them," Cloud boasted. "I'm not just going to find a job. I want to join SOLDIER." He stood up and puffed out his chest. "I'm going to be the best there is, just like Sephiroth!" he cried triumphantly to the star-filled sky._
    
    _"Sephiroth," Tifa murmured in repetition, the words rolling off her tongue respectfully. "The Great Sephiroth."_
    
    _She turned to Cloud's face, and he immediately scooted away as her big transcendescent eyes met his plain blue ones. "Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER?" she inquired._
    
    _Cloud nodded affirmatively. "I probably won't be able to come back to this town for a while," he said as he looked into the distance._
    
    _"Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?" Tifa pressed her question._
    
    _"I'll try," was all Cloud could say._
    
    _Tifa kicked a few stones in silence, and then without warning walked directly up to Cloud, her eyes flashing with a barely contained idea. "Hey, why don't we make a promise?" she suggested as they stood next to one another._ "_Umm, if you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind...... You come save me, all right?"_
    
    _"What?" Cloud exclaimed incredulously._
    
    _"Whenever I'm in trouble," Tifa explained her thoughts, "my hero will come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that once."_
    
    _Cloud looked at her as if she had gone crazy. "What?" he repeated._
    
    _"Come on--!" she insisted. "Promise me--!"_
    
    _"All right…," Cloud conceded. "I promise."_
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    "You remember now, don't you?" Tifa said triumphantly, bringing Cloud from his thoughts to her attention.
    
    Cloud looked at the beauty longingly before turning away. "I'm not a hero and I'm not famous. I can't keep…the promise."
    
    "But you got your childhood dream, didn't you?" she persisted. "You joined SOLDIER." She appealed doggedly. "So come on! You've got to keep your promise....."
    
    Before she could say another word, however, Barret clambered up into the bar, and turned to Cloud with a look of reluctance across his image.
    
    "Wait a sec big-time SOLDIER!" he conceded. "A promise is a promise!" he roared despite himself. "Here!!"
    
    With that, Barret tossed a bag of gil to Cloud, who immediately tested the bag in his palm. Altogether, it was worth approximately 1500 gil.
    
    _Paltry_, Cloud scoffed, then looked at the pleading eyes of Tifa again. "This is my pay?" he asked with a sarcastic smirk. "Don't make me laugh," he belatedly said as he began to laugh mirthlessly.
    
    Tifa suddenly understood his drift. "What? Then you'll….!" she exclaimed happily.
    
    "You got the next mission lined up?" Cloud inquired, turning to Barret. "I'll do it for 3000," he offered.
    
    Barret's face turned considerably more pale than usual. "What…!?" he said flusteredly.
    
    "It's okay, it's okay…," Tifa comforted him as she moved beside the thick man. "Hey," she whispered, "we're really hurting for help, right?"
    
    Barret calmed down, then groaned and whispered back. "That money's for Marlene's schoolin'", he complained. He then turned back to Cloud and gave an ultimatum. "Two thousand!" he bellowed. Cloud shrugged in response.
    
    Tifa smiled and gave Cloud a quick hug. "Thanks, Cloud."
    
    As night fell on the entire city of Midgar and the members of AVALANCHE had one by one drifted off to sleep, Cloud Strife remained awake. He did not stay awake from anxiety or from thoughts that plagued him (at least by themselves). Nor did he remain awake for fear of bad dreams. No, he thought even as he lost control and began to drift off, those weren't the reasons he strained to stay awake as much as he could at all.
    
    _It was the voice......_
    
    End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: All rights to Final Fantasy 7, all respective parties, and virtually anything I write about even remotely related to said topics are copyright of Squaresoft. : (

Final Fantasy VII

Chapter 3: Descent Into Darkness

_Wake up!_

_Why? So I can return to sleep only to wake once more? Why…?_

_Wake up!_

_I thought that I was in a dream at first…but now I understand. The dream was reality, reality only being what I made of it in the first place as well as the end._

_Wake up!_

_And so the boy leaves to make himself aspire to the angel that has fallen from grace—how foolish could I be?_

_Wake up!_

_The power is mine…_

_Wake up!_

_Yet the past is not…_

_And as I gain what I truly desire I find I do not want it because it is not mine to claim._

_Only Death is mine…_

_Wake up!_

_Mine…_

_Wake up!!!_

_Revoked by destruction itself!_

_Wake up…_

_Maybe I should…_

*** * * * ***

Cloud lifted stiffly out of his long sleep, as stiff and cold as if he were dead. Beads of sweat formulated instantly upon his forehead, running down his now pale and shrunken facial features. His eyes, however, remained closed, shutting the light form one world into another.

_Time to get up…_

He hated this part of the morning with a passion. Out of all other points in the day, he had no control over his emotions here, no regulation or manipulation of display, and no method of concealing anything from anybody, whether they be AVALANCHE, Shinra, or somebody even more important…

And he hated it. He loathed it. Mockery as well as pain it was, for it frustrated him from its inevitability more than anything else. A curse of absolute weakness, no matter how momentary.

Cloud took in a brief air of anticipation as he kept his eyes wide shut in the world beside the other world, awaiting what would certainly be the gawks and stares of a 'team' gaping at the depiction of emotion that had just escaped from a vessel that repeatedly displayed no more than a hardened surface of encapsulation. He opened his eyes slowly.

To his surprise, he saw nothing.

_Must've all gone upstairs_, he mused as he surveyed the emptied room. _Probably didn't want to wake the vengeful Strife…_

He stood and stretched, his movements more than routine, they also were ritualistic, as though they had been emulated and imbedded into his brain from birth. He shook his outer clothing and armor out well, afterwards tossing the clothing onto his body and made several quick motions to test the uniform's flexibility.

_Always a little too big_, Cloud thought in annoyance. He looked to the bar above as he heard the clatter and rattling of his co-workers as they prepared for the imminent mission. He sighed unconsciously as he walked slowly to the now familiar pinball machine and methodically pressed the latched button in a familiar motion.

Tifa whirled around impulsively as she heard the clicks and whirs of the pinball machine elevator and stood with a silent smile as Cloud emerged from the small shaft fully armor-clad and (apparently) battle-ready.

Cloud, on the other hand, barely visibly acknowledged her presence or anybody else's, though the opposite happened internally. He noted Barret's methodical, completely mental planning at the door of the bar as the man stood watching his teammates leave already for the train in preparation. He noticed Marlene as well, imitating Tifa behind the bar counter with a perfect replication of her apt skills at shaking drinks, as well as performing a humorous swagger intended to be a flattering interpretation of her graceful walk. And he of course noted Tifa, as her eager smile and exuberance could bring a light to any person's eyes. He strode powerfully over to her, his persona completely reestablished and proceeded to strike up a conversation with all of his regained confidence.

"Good morning, Cloud," Tifa pre-emptively initiated the conversation as he approached her. "Did you sleep well?"

_Next to you, who wouldn't? _Cloud imagined himself saying casually as he advanced. Thinking better of it, he glanced around for some inspiration to utilize in reply.

The brooding Barret caught his attention. He nodded to him, whispering lowly to Tifa, "His snoring kept me up..." 

Tifa's expression turned from one of eagerness to another of anxiousness. "Shhh!" she warned hurriedly. "He'll hear you. Barret's always edgy before a mission."

_Probably because he never pulled one off without me before_, Cloud silently commented. He stifled a snicker as the thought crossed his mind.

"I'm going this time."

"What?" Cloud's attention suddenly snapped back to the woman beside him, which was fitting as he was also beside himself—in shock.

"Yeah." The chocolate-haired brunette nodded unruffledly as she replied, almost nonchalantly twisting her hair with her two smallest fingers and wrapping the strands in the digits. She shrugged. "Barret's not happy about it either, but I insisted. You guys are going to have loads more trouble than you did yesterday.

"All the more reason…," Cloud began, then stopped as he conceded to the fierce determination of the young fighter before him. _She would come in handy, at least, _he rationalized the situation.

Cloud quickly examined his childhood friend, with an eye now not for anything but the capacity of strength and disciplines she contained. Her body, while slender was finely toned and muscular as well as shapely. And as Cloud knew, her fighting abilities were not just effective; they were both powerfully destructive and lethal.

Still apprehensive, he turned and started towards Barret, watching him prepare for the chaos that they both would soon plunge themselves into. The dark man saw him coming, and stood to address him.

Cloud at that moment noticed that he carried the assault gun taken form the Roboguard that had attacked them yesterday in the reactor. Barret glanced and smirked at him meaningfully, then raised the weapon in his left hand while extending his right arm simultaneously.

Barret's body tensed in a stance that resembled nothing so much as Cloud when he utilized his mighty Lightning and Ice magic. Raising his right gun appendage high, he gave out a shout. 

"Program Upgrade!"

The dislocated assault gun began to contort and twist, rotating and revolving in a whirling pattern about Barret's right arm. Then abruptly, the mechanics desisted, and the rearranged parts fused themselves to the gatling gun on his arm.

The leader of AVALANCHE lifted the new augmented weapon into the air, now openly laughing from satisfaction. He raised the weapon to an old, bullet-riddled target in the corner of the bar. He fired once, then happily hollered once more as the target shattered from the sheer velocity of the impact.

Cloud observed the spectacle with a whimsically impressed mindset. He spoke up over the exuberant yells that filled the room with a clinical tone. "Jessie really knows how to make those gadgets, hmm?" 

Barret turned to him at the sound of the comment, and, to Cloud's surprise, appeared to be even more satisfied than before. "Yeah, Jessie is a great mechanic," he agreed with his detached mercenary-for-hire. "But she didn't build this gizmo," he said very calmly. "This gun-arm is all my design."

As Cloud reluctantly digested this new information, Barret returned to his more expressive state. "Now we finally get to turn the damn Shinra's technology against them!" The elated man touted his new weapon, examining it with pride. As he did so, he realized that the weapon contained two newly carved fine holes, each almost exactly resembling the orb filled crevices in Cloud's massive weapon. Barret procured the shining green orb that they had both found the previous day in the reactor, and looked at it briefly with a contemplative stare.

"Uh, Cloud…," he started, watching the demeaning glance of the man shift towards him. "I…I don't really know how to use materia!" he admitted. He handed the orb to Cloud slowly, offering, "I'll let you keep the materia you found. Just teach me how to use it!"

Cloud almost impulsively began to refuse, then stopped as he felt the green ball's weight in his hand. As he waited longer still, he felt a familiar tremor begin to slightly take hold of his entire body. He concentrated hard, letting the essence of the materia flow through him, waiting until a single command popped uncontrollably into his head.

_Cure._

"Sure," he agreed with a slight smile of superiority that immediately agitated the respondent. He pocketed the materia, and said shortly with typical abruptness, "Let's go."

"What the hell!" Barret protested. "What about…"

"I'll tell you on the way," Cloud said sternly, as if he were talking exasperatedly to a 0child. Without another word, he strolled out of the bar and into the street.

Barret swore quietly. "C'mon Tifa. You heard yo old 'friend'." As they both turned to leave, Barret hollered back to Marlene as well. "We're going now, Marlene!" he informed her loudly. "You look after the store while we're gone. The Tremonds'll be over real soon to watch ya!"

"Bye Papa!" Marlene cried back, evoking another glimmer of happiness from the departing warrior.

*** * * * ***

Cloud had been watching Johnny's heart-wrenching goodbye for well over ten minutes, and was becoming tired of waiting for his team members to show up. "I'm goin' far away now," he repeated for what must've been the thousandth time. "Won't be back for a long time," he continued. "But when I come back I'll be a better man!"

To Cloud's eternal gratitude, he finally concluded in the midst of the sobering drunks that were seeing him off. "This is goodbye!"

_Finally_, Cloud graciously thought.

"Hey!" It took Cloud a second to realize that Johnny was addressing him. He slowly turned his head to face the departing redhead. Johnny laughed at his expression and continued jokingly, "Childhood friend! You better take good care of Tifa!"

Cloud felt his body respond to the statement in a way that could only be described as violent. His arms and muscles shuddered, as well as his throbbing chest. And his eyes lit as if in a blaze, the searing glow startling everybody around him except Johnny, who had already left for the train.

_He knows…_

"Cloud?" As he heard the inquiry Cloud looked to the direction of the voice and viciously confronted the speaker. His countenance dropped when his eyes fell upon an extremely startled Tifa, who was staring open-mouthed at him.

As Cloud's expression waned, however, her confidence began to regain from the flash of emotion that had diminished it. She inquired again. "Cloud? Did Johnny leave already?"

Cloud gave a silent nod of affirmation. Tifa frowned, then sadly began again. "He was always such a good friend," she remembered fondly. After a brief pause, she continued, "Especially here in Sector 7."

"Sector 7's a hard place to get used to," Cloud agreed. "It's always good to have a friend here." 

"Hey!" Barret motioned to the both of them. "Let's go!" he almost literally barked to them in a curt order.

"No," Cloud replied just as curtly, though without changing his tone and at the same time maintaining a loud voice as his employer had. Barret stopped abruptly and began to stalk over to Tifa and him.

"Whaddya mean, 'no'?!?" he demanded of him as he stepped in front of them both.

"Do you want this two-bit operation to succeed?" Cloud asked the looming figure in a surprisingly nonchalant voice.

"What did you say?" Barret asked in a shock, his voice cracking as he did so.

Cloud continued undeterred in his manner. "This time isn't going to be just a walk in the park for you like last time." As Barret tried to interrupt, Cloud raised his voice to stop him. "Midgar's under martial law now," Cloud continued, "thanks to your little stunt." He stopped abruptly and stared the bigger man down. "Worst for you, SOLDIER's been mobilized. Above all, you're going to need to be stealthy and prepared for this."

"Follow me," Cloud finished, turning and advancing towards the decrepit slum 'buildings', heaps of trash and junk metal made into survivable habitats and places of commerce. The young Ex-SOLDIER stopped at one building, and began to search the walls with his hands around the structure.

Barret complained to him, though with a significantly less violent tone. "Cloud! This building's been abandoned for as long as anybody here can remember!" he said agitatedly. 

Cloud then appeared to find what he had been looking for. He pointed to a small mark on the door, gesturing for Barret and Tifa to take a close look at. As soon as Barret recognized the combination of symbols on the wall, he let out an uncontrollable cry of rage. 

"That's the mark of the damn Shinra!" he stated with considerable surprise. He turned to the smug Cloud, awaiting any form of explanation.

Cloud, anticipating this, began to briefly summarize the situation. "Yeah, Shinra," he began. "This is a secret supply station for members of Shinra to utilize, in order to mobilize efficiently in any portion of Midgar."

Barret suddenly perceived the lack of distance from the building and the Seventh Heaven bar. He asked, now more intently curious than anything, "If this is a base for the damn Shinra, then wouldn't they know that AVALANCHE's hideout is right across from here?"

Cloud nodded negatively. "No," he replied curtly. "The employees at the supply stations are under strict orders never to leave the bases, which is probably why you've never seen them. Shinra employees caught leaving are put under penalty of torture and death."

Cloud without any further prompting, gave a sequential series of knocks on the mark rhythmically, eventually doing so twenty times. He turned back to his two partners. "This is merely an MP supply station," he explained. "Other stations are more complex and varied, and have much better equipment." Just as Cloud finished his last sentence, a wall aside from him moved slightly, revealing that it was indeed a door. Cloud nodded knowingly to Tifa and Barret. "Let's go," he commanded.

Barret, raring to go, pushed past both Cloud and Tifa and kicked down the door with a brutal strength and charged inside, followed closely by his left compatriots.

"What in the world?" came the shocked exclamation of the supply store's manager as he witnessed three odd looking ruffians break down his door and bust into the holds of the station. He looked at the big, darker man, the stunningly scary woman, and the strange blond and spiky haired man most of all as they stepped towards the man. Then, on closer examination of the latter of the three, he spotted something that made his spirits rise.

"Oh!" he exclaimed more happily now, a look of realization flooding his paling features. "You're from SOLDIER, aren't you?" he said as he stared at his glowing eyes and distinct weapon and attire. He ventured a more hopeful question. "You…you a…customer?"

Cloud nodded to the man. "Yeah," he said affirmatively. "We needed some quick supplies, and this was the closest station I knew of." 

"Y, yes!" the manager cried happily. "We buy! We sell!" He nodded knowingly to Cloud as he did so. "All at the specially discounted Shinra storehouse prices," he enticingly offered.

_Shinra…always trying to make a quick buck, even off its own people_, Cloud thought amusedly. "Alright," he agreed. "I've got some new potential recruits to train," he lied to the manager, "so I'll be showing them the ropes on the basic materials."

"Your best armor," he commanded to the manager in one word. Within moments, three shining bangles were laid out upon the counter, ready to be used at a moments' notice. Cloud recognized the armor immediately, and turned to the gaping Barret and the admiring Tifa. "Iron Bangles," he explained, snapping one of the armors onto his arm opposite the one with the Bronze Bangle attached. "They form a protective barrier for each sequential hit at the equivalent of a full body of armor—without the added weight burden." Barret and Tifa continued to look on as Cloud went through step-by-step explanations as he would do to real SOLDIER recruits (some of which Barret and Tifa had yet to learn, as well). "The magical forging and properties give it the same reliability as your Bronze Bangles," he explained. "However, no more than two should be worn at a time, as the magical density of three or more could significantly or fatally reduce combative effectiveness." He tossed each of the remaining armors to his partners, who in turn snapped them onto their arms opposing their already existing bangles.

Cloud then turned to the apprehensive Barret, and spoke up to him in a commanding voice, "Young man, you told me earlier that you had trouble learning how to use materia, correct?" Barret nodded dumbfoundedly as Cloud continued, "Well, here's a 101 course training of the subject, right now." He turned to the manager again. "Materia," he again demanded shortly.

Again, the manager turned and took another object from behind the counter. He turned and laid a small case containing three orbs and laid it out for Cloud's observations. Cloud chose a seemingly random green orb and tossed it to Barret, who snatched it out of the air as soon as it had been let go. Cloud then looked at Barret meaningfully and said to him, "Concentrate hard on the materia, learn what it is, and learn how to use it."

Barret stared uncomfortably at the impersonating mercenary, and reluctantly began to concentrate on the orb in his hand. Suddenly, he felt a rocking feeling begin to quake throughout his entire body, until a word uncontrollably entered his head just as Cloud had experienced before.

_Fire._

Barret's body and muscles tensed. "Fire!" he yelled without thinking, and instantly Fire magic streaked across the supply station, only dissipating when Cloud brought down his sword to deflect it just as fast as the spell approached.

"Be careful with those spells, recruit," Cloud warned. He then turned to Tifa. "You have any materia?" he asked honestly. 

"No," Tifa honestly replied as well. "But I'm pretty well versed in using it," she defended herself.

"Okay. Here's some good materia, then." For a second Tifa thought Cloud was going to hand her the remaining green orb in the case, but he instead pulled an orb out of his own sword and tossed it to her. Tifa instinctively concentrated as she caught it out of habit, and immediately heard the silent voice run through her head.

_Ice._

"You'll use my Ice materia, he'll use the Fire, and I'll keep using my Lightning, my new Restore, and…," he said as he snatched up a blue orb from the case, "this All materia with my Restore."

"All?" Barret questioned as Cloud spoke, confused once more by the sheer scale of materia. Cloud sighed and began to explain once more.

"Yeah, All. It's a type of support materia, as opposed to magic materia. It enhances the abilities of materia if it is junctioned to other materia," Cloud explained. Before Barret could question what a junction was, Cloud walked over to him and grabbed his gun-arm and raised it so that Barret could see the two holes in the weapon against his will. "These holes are used for carrying materia for easy battle usage, as opposed to just using magic one at a time." Cloud then pointed to a slight jagged cut connecting the two holes, and continued, "These cuts connect materia slots for junctioning. I'm using the All materia, which means that if I junction it to any magic materia, it will affect all possible targets rather than just one specific target." With that sentence, he pointed to the cut between the two slots in his weapon, and removed his Lightning materia and placed the Restore and All materia into the two slots, signifying that they were junctioned. "With this," Cloud concluded, "I can heal everybody on the battlefield at once with a Cure spell, as opposed to just one individual." Cloud finally raised his Iron Bangle to see. "Also," he said, pointing out a slot in the armor, "remember that armor can carry materia as well," he finished, snapping his Lightning materia into the slot. "That's about it, recruits."

Cloud turned one last time to the manager. "Finally, we'll take five Potions, three Phoenix Downs, and, if you've got one, an Ether," he concluded.

"Still got one left," the owner said cheerfully in the affirmative, taking five flasks, three gold colored feathers (that Barret recognized as the type that had saved his life), and a large green bottle. After splitting the items among the group and pocketing the Ether, Cloud turned to the owner once more.

"How much?" he inquired.

"With SOLDIER discount, hmm…," the man pondered, "about 1200 gil." 

"This should be enough," Cloud stated as he tossed the bag that he had received as payment the night before from Barret to the man.

Without any other pleasantries, he wheeled about and exited, whispering to Barret as he did so, "Now you definitely owe me three thousand."

As the team strolled out of the supply station fully stocked and prepared, even Barret was speechless as Cloud led them out back into the depths of the slums. Cloud turned to Barret, and spoke softly then as their eyes met.

"Now, let's get on that train."

*** * * * ***

The members of AVALANCHE entered the train with a much more sated attitude than they usually had as of late. The preparation orchestrated by the Ex-SOLDIER that was their mercenary, and using the Shinra technology against them, filled the team with renewed vigor as they stepped into the musty train car and whatever new surprises Shinra had implemented. Cloud, Barret, and Tifa arrived last to the patiently waiting Wedge, Jessie, and Biggs. Barret cleared his throat and began to address his group and (mostly) friends alike. 

"Yo!" he gave out an uncordial greeting. "Looks like this ain't no private car! So split up!" Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie immediately complied, leaving the car in a hurry, but in no way necessarily deterring other passengers from leaving the intimidating rebel leader to another car as well. Nearly none were left, except the car's train employee who had suffered through the antics of the rebels the night before.

"Hoodlums again," he muttered as he sighted the coarse rebel leader and his companions. "God, don't I just have all the luck…."

Unfortunately for the employee, Barret overheard the man's slighting comments as he passed him on his way to his seat. He stopped abruptly in front of the man. "You say sumthin'?" he demanded, though he never turned his head once to look at the employee. He demanded once more, "I said, you say sumthin'?" 
    
    As the man remained silent once more, Barret swung around to face him startlingly, and brought his face within two inches of the other man's. "Yo, look at that!!" he screamed in his face, examining him clinically as though he were a ware in a store. "It got empty alluva sudden."
    
    The man jumped up in his seat despite his shaky resolve. "DAMN!" he cried out in a fluctuating voice, signaling that he was nearly on the verge of tears. "I...it's empty because of... g, guys like you...," the employee whimpered. At this, Barret threw his fist into the windowpane behind him, scaring the man completely out of his wits. "Y, Y, YIPES!!" he cried out again in pure fear. He looked at Barret strangely, and then pressed a point that he'd wanted to express for some time. "You... you've seen the news, right? AVALANCHE says there'll be more bombings. Only devoted employees like me would go to Midgar on a day like today."
    
    Barret's clinical manner suddenly turned into a manner of rage as he digested the information the man was giving. "You workin' for Shinra?" he demanded in a rasp, raising his gun-arm to the man's face in an outburst of pure emotion.
    
    The Shinra manager's face paled, but he remained as he was, despite the fact that he began to cry, and that the dryness of his pants was now suspect. "I'm won't give in to violence," he sobbed, "and I'm not giving you my seat!"
    
    Fortunately at last for the Shinra manager, Tifa ran up to Barret, worried at what he had done (as well as what he might still do). "Barret!" she chastised him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him away from the cowering Shinra employee.
    
    Barret, his senses regained, took one last look at the now completely submissive man before leaving with Tifa. "Fuck!" he swore. "You lucky bitch!" With no other adieu, he left him where he sat in mental pieces, and walked back to the end of the train where Cloud was awaiting him.
    
    "So, what are we going to do now?" Cloud asked with a much more cool tone than Barret was used to after intimidating the Shinra manager. Barret didn't like the change at all.
    
    "Shit!" he cursed again. "The hell you so calm about? You bustin' up my rhythm…." As he complained, the train's engine came to life with a creak and roar, tilting him off balance while Cloud stood undeterred and Tifa grabbed a hold of a handle.
    
    "Seems like they just finished connecting the cars," Tifa observed as she watched Barret stumble and struggle to get a grip. "We're finally leaving," she mouthed.
    
    "So what's our next target?" Cloud reiterated his question as Barret reoriented himself and clutched onto a handle himself.
    
    "Hah!" Barret now laughed at Cloud's calm manner, completely reestablished. "Listen to Mr. Serious-about-his-work!" He let his laughter die out, and turned his manner into an extremely methodical and serious one. "Awright... I'll tell ya! Jessie's probably already told you, but there's a security checkpoint at the top plate. It's an ID scan system checkin' all the trains."
    
    "Which Shinra is very proud of," Tifa supplemented as Cloud nodded to the respoken information. Barret nodded as well in reluctant assent.
    
    "We can't use our fake ID's anymore….," he lamented as he twirled a card containing his picture that read, 'Reginald Durr II'.
    
    The team was jolted out of thought as a mechanical voice came on over the intercom, blaring in its reliable monotonous drivel, "Good morning, and welcome to Midgar lines. Arrival time at Sector 4 Station will be 11:45."
    
    "That means we've only got three minutes to the ID checkpoint," Tifa commented as she absorbed the information and committed it to memory.
    
    Barret, rather than remain passive, reenergized himself. "Alright, in three minutes we're jumpin' off this train," he stated fervently. "Got it?"
    
    Without waiting for anymore input, he sat down with a heavy sigh on the seats opposite the still hysterical Shinra manager. Tifa, on the other hand, trotted over to the screen on the opposite side of the car. "Cloud, come over here!" she called back to the impassive warrior. "Let's look at the Railway Map Monitor," she offered.
    
    Cloud raised an eyebrow to the strange request. _I knew Jessie liked that kind of techie stuff, but Tifa? _he thought perplexedly as he made his way over to her. He pondered the situation even more. _Maybe there's some kind of chick thing with railway monitors and such...._, he guessed as he walked. _Or, maybe...._, he thought more seriously, _watching a train run its course, consistently, and knowing where life takes you....maybe that's an appeal that everyone can relate to._
    
    Cloud looked over to the railway monitor from afar and registered minimally the buzz and clicks of its startup procedure. Tifa observed him as he did so intricately. "Hmm, it looks like you've seen this already....," she spoke up, startling Cloud into full consciousness. Tifa laughed at the jittery nature that the Ex-SOLDIER had just displayed. "It's all right. Come a little closer," she offered again, finally prompting him to move closer and get a better look next to her.
    
    As they awaited the start-up of the system, the mechanics were abruptly interrupted by the flicker and complete shutdown of the monitor. Immediately afterwards, a red strobe light began to flash and an alarm started to blare throughout the train. Tifa started, and turned anxiously to Cloud.
    
    "That's odd," she commented as calmly as she could. "The ID checkpoint was supposed to be further down." Her suspicions were confirmed as the intercom came online again, though the mechanical voice was now anything but monotonous.
    
    "Type A Security Alert!" the machine screeched. "Unidentified passengers confirmed... A search of all cars will be conducted!" The members of AVALANCHE stood in shock for a moment, until the voice blared again, "Repeat!! Type A Security Alert!! Unidentified passengers confirmed... A search of all cars will be conducted!"
    
    "What's happening?" Tifa finally asked, turning to Cloud for support.
    
    "What's goin' on!!" Barret joined in, rushing over to them both at the monitor.
    
    As if in direct response, the door to the adjoining car was flung wide open, revealing a panting Jessie, who hurriedly and immediately spoke up. "We're in trouble," she confirmed. "I'll explain it later. Hurry! Get to the next car!"
    
    "Fuck!" Barret responded. "Someone blew it…."
    
    "Unidentified passengers located in Car #1," the intercom blared again with mounting urgency. "Preparing for Lock Down," it warned indirectly.
    
    "Let's go!" Barret commanded. "Keep it up!" he encouraged. With no further adieu, the team members crossed into the next car, just as the cars behind them began to lock shut sequentially.
    
    As they passed into the next car, the intercom started up in a different tone in the second car. "Car #1: Locked Down," it informed. "Upgrading to Level Two Warning."
    
    Barret watching each of his team members scurry about. He remained uncharacteristically silent, trying hard to assess the situation. He was suddenly bombarded with warnings from his team members:
    
    "Hurry!"
    
    "They're gonna lock the door, sir!!"
    
    Jessie took immediate authority then despite her inhibitions for sake of the situation, and spoke clearly and meaningfully to Cloud, Barret, and Tifa.
    
    "Just run!" she screamed. "Changing to Plan 2!"
    
    "Unidentified passengers located in Car #2," the machine droned similarly as it had before. "Preparing for Lock Down."
    
    _I didn't know there was a Plan 1_, Cloud mused as he and his team began to advance to the third car.
    
    The team entered the third car in dreaded anticipation of the worst, but then breathed a sigh of relief as the alarms and droning began to fade away. Barret let out a yell of triumph. "Awright! We clear!!"
    
    Jessie nodded in dissent. "Not yet. Only for the moment, until they spot it again. Regardless, we've got some breathing room." She looked desperately at the entire group, and ended staring at Cloud. "Listen," she said, never taking her eyes off of him, "we've got to stay on this train as long as possible until we're as close as we can get to the insertion point to the Sector 5 Reactor." She stood as tall as she could and whispered, listening to the underlying garbled speech of the intercoms as though it were a second language, "They're starting another check. If we're caught, we're done for! But, don't worry. If we move up the train, car by car, we should get past it!"
    
    "Unidentified Passengers: Moving to front of Train," a renewed mechanical drone cut her off. "Currently tracking location," it continued.
    
    "Let's move!" Jessie commanded in a voice that Cloud immediately recognized as one of leadership. He nodded rapidly in agreement, and moved down to the fourth car as quickly as he could pace. As he passed, he noticed a familiar redhead pressing his face and hands to a window. Cloud sighed and passed him with disdain as he advanced.
    
    "Later….goodbye….Adios, Midgar!!!" Johnny wailed to the streaking city through the window.
    
    Cloud belatedly entered the fourth car, and was surprised to see three people writhing on the floor, their clothes procured from them in what appeared to be a quick fashion.
    
    _Looks like the team had enough time to get some disguises_, Cloud silently remarked as he dashed past the three hapless nudes. 
    
    "Car #4 Locked Down," the now familiar intercom lifted Cloud out of his remarks. "Upgrading to Level 4 Warning," it repeated yet again, leaving Cloud to measure his time and to hope they'd reach the checkpoint in time as he entered the fifth and final public train car.
    
    "Car#4 Locked Down," were the first words that greeted the now annoyed mercenary as he entered the fifth car. "Upgrading to maximum security alert!!" came the high screech as the alarm hit a fever pitch. The impatient (but gracious) Barret was the second thing to greet him as he entered the car.
    
    "All right!! We made it!" he cried as he realized the train had reached the checkpoint. He motioned to the front of the car. "Yo!! This way!! Let's go!! We're gonna dive 
    
    outta here!!"
    
    Cloud, Tifa, and Barret all advanced to the front of the car. Cloud took note of the disguised Wedge, Biggs, and Jessie, all outfitted in farming overalls, a trenchcoat, and a Shinra officer's uniform, respectively. Jessie cautiously approached Cloud, dwarfed in her Shinra uniform, and tapped him on his shoulder guard. "It's me, Jessie," she whispered to Cloud. "How do I look, Cloud? Do I look good in a Shinra uniform?"
    
    Cloud, glancing over to her briefly, responded absent-mindedly, "You look great, just like a man."
    
    "Yay!! I'm so happy," Jessie squealed, but then thought the comment over. "I think?" she added.
    
    Cloud didn't hear the last comments, as he was prepping with Tifa and Barret to jump the train. Suddenly Tifa's confidence seemed to break, and she turned to Cloud with a deadened stare. "Scary….huh," she commented with an intake of a gasp.
    
    "Too late to be saying that now," Cloud rebuked her coldly despite his wish that he hadn't. "Why'd you come along anyway?" he then inquired, only with curiosity, devoid of previous malice.
    
    "Because….," Tifa began.
    
    "Hey you two!" Barret shouted above the rising cacophony that began to blend into Midgar's natural noise pattern. "There ain't no time for that!"
    
    Tifa motioned apologetically to Barret. Walking over to the emergency exit door, she glanced out of the pried open door. Turning back, she concentrated hard, and let her body have control of her mind, to operate on instinct. She turned back to Cloud. "Yeah!! I've made up my mind!" she shouted to Cloud. "Watch closely. I'm gonna jump!!" And with no more than a nod, she dived headfirst out of the train and out of Cloud and Barret's sight. Cloud, bowing his head shortly, then turned back to his excited employer.
    
    "You don't mind if I go first?" he inquired (half) sarcastically.
    
    "A leader always stays till the end," Barret stated with extreme dignity. He turned back to Cloud and motioned for him to leave. "Don't worry 'bout me, just go!" he commanded.
    
    Just as Cloud turned to jump, Barret interrupted him one last time. "Yo!" he cried, prompting the Ex-SOLDIER to turn around. He looked at the man with what could almost be described as reverence to his abilities. "Don't go gettin' your spiky ass hurt!" he warned superfluously. "It's only the beginning of the mission!"
    
    Shrugging, Cloud threw Barret back one last ambiguous glance and sprung through the door and out of the train. Barret then turned and gave his comrades a glance as well, but one that was far more painfully obvious. "Later!" he yelled curtly. "You take care of the rest!" Then, finally, Barret Wallace leaped off of the train and steadied himself for a rough landing.
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    The three AVALANCHE members that had dived off of the train now stood in the train's tunnel, near the insertion point of the Sector 5 Reactor. Barret looked to Tifa and Cloud and gave a tight grin of affirmation, then called over to them both. "Good," he praised, "everything's going as planned." He gestured for both of them to come over to him. "Better not let your guard down till we get to the Sector 5 reactor," he warned. "Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie got everything ready for us. So MOVE it." With no further prompting, the team began to walk down the remainder of the tunnel to the insertion point.
    
    "Wait!" Cloud said in a fit of realization after approximately a minute of walking.
    
    "What?" Barret replied, albeit exasperatedly.
    
    "If the insertion point's as far away as you say it is, then we're not going to be able to make it! Shinra has installed security sensors just a few hundred yards away from here," Cloud explained with a pained expression upon his face.
    
    Sure enough, green security laser sensors were in full operation at the next intersection in the tunnel. Cloud groaned and turned to Barret, left for once without an idea. "Can't we get around it somehow?" he asked.
    
    "If Jessie were here, maybe, but like this….," Barret seemed to think aloud hopelessly.
    
    "Hey!" Tifa shouted over to them both, spotting something near the sensors. "Maybe we could use this!" Cloud and Barret both walked over to her and recognized what she was pointing out—a ventilation shaft.
    
    "She is right," Cloud agreed. We could use this to literally go under the Plate, and, therefore, its security sensors, entering the reactor…."
    
    "…From up the tailpipe instead of at the front door!" Barret finished. "But, damn man, that thing gives me the chills," he commented, looking at the size of it compared to his frame.
    
    "There will be a problem, however," Cloud warned as Tifa and Barret prepared to go down into the shaft.
    
    "What?" Tifa asked apprehensively.
    
    "Monsters," Cloud replied with ultimate gravity.
    
    "Monsters!" Barret exclaimed. "What in the fuck would monsters be doing down in the bowels of a reactor?" he asked amazedly.
    
    _Don't you know?_ was the first thought that popped into Cloud's head. "Just be careful, alright?" he asked to the both of them. He stretched, gave a quick thumbs-up, and leapt down into the shaft first, letting both Barret and Tifa know it was solid at the bottom with the resounding thud he made a moment later. They both followed as well, in turn.
    
    Cloud, Barret, and Tifa all made their way through shaft after shaft, in the twisted construction of the Sector 5 Plate's underbelly. As they rose under the pressure of the noise that surrounded them, Cloud kept getting the feeling that they were being followed by something as they progressed, though Barret's constant whining that there could never possibly be any monsters in the underbelly of the Plate didn't help him keep track of any movement at all.
    
    Finally the tired team reached a plateau, where Tifa suddenly cried, "We made it—it's the reactor loading platform!" 
    
    Cloud wasn't so sure if he agreed so readily. It of course at least had been one—the words 'Loading Platform' stood out even among all the rust that covered it. Still, it seemed so….abandoned. As if it was left to the winds of fate by Shinra….
    
    "Oh, crap….Cloud!" Barret suddenly yelled, turning Cloud's attention to him. "You may have been right….we've got company!"
    
    Cloud cursed as he realized that he had been right, despite his most ardent wishes that he wouldn't be. As he stared, he realized that literally hundreds of monsters were creeping and infiltrating the abandoned platform from every direction. Disgusting, slimy, blue spiked beasts, slithering snake like floating creatures, hard shelled cocoon ribbed scorpions, and many other grotesque sights began to surround and advance on them. Cloud immediately moved to the front and took command (without any complaint from Barret).
    
    "Use your magic wisely!" he shouted. "You may not have All," he advised, "but try to aim for clusters, concentrate hard, keep them back!" He raised his voice to a booming pitch. "Above all!" he yelled with his voice ringing, "Try to find an entrance to the reactor!!!" With no more words to comfort, Cloud raised his sword, gave out a cry of "Bolt!" and entered the fray.
    
    "Fire!" "Ice!" "Bolt!" The shouts of magic began to fill the loading dock as each of the AVALANCHE members gave out bursts of magic, killing large groups of monsters at once, and driving them onto the defensive. Cloud gave out a yell as he progressed; cutting a swath (and, incidentally, a path) through the mindless monsters that only possessed a single mindset—to kill any humans that they encountered. Monsters were sick freaks of nature (or so men thought) and were also a prime study for Shinra's biogenetic research.
    
    "How're we doing?" Cloud asked as his sword slashed through three small yet nimble creatures at once, and then brought his weapon to bear upon a crustacean like creature.
    
    "I took a hit, but my armor's holding," Tifa shouted back in response. "Still no sign of the exit, though!"
    
    "I'm still fine," Barret yelled over to him as well, "but there is some really annoying thread that I keep getting tangled in!"
    
    "What?!?" Cloud exclaimed in concern. He doubled back, slicing his way through the hordes of creatures that had begun to push back, and, stopping directly in front of Barret, cut through all of the thread that had been impeding him with the edge of his sword.
    
    "This is the monster's silk attack," Cloud reprimanded. "Don't ignore it. By the time you realize you're being tied up to be devoured, it's already too late."
    
    Tifa was forced back to their position as well. Sweating hard, Cloud gave out a thunderous Bolt spell that exhausted his entire reserve of energy, and tried to think in the time they had bought. "We've got to find a way out!" he stated breathlessly.
    
    Finally, in a last event that seemed to end all to everything, a violent shaking began to resonate through the loading dock, resulting in a burst of new creatures exploding through the flimsy floor and knocking Cloud off of his feet. 
    
    But just as times seemed most desperate for the cornered team, a sound of high powered machine gun fire erupted from above them and joined in with the shots of Barret's ultra velocity assault gun.
    
    Wedge was there, clad in his farmer outfit, taking potshots at the surrounding monsters. "AVALANCHE!" he gave out in a traditional battle cry that rang through the facility. He stopped and lowered the retractable ladder to the vent that he was firing from. "This way!" he bellowed as much as his strangely high-pitched voice would allow. "The reactor's just up this ladder!"
    
    Cloud, Barret, and Tifa needed no second prompting to clamber onto the ladder. Barret himself indulged himself in giving a few last resounding shots at the creatures, tearing a few of the now thousand strong monsters into pieces. 
    
    "Thanks, Wedge," were the first words that left Cloud's mouth as he reached the vent above. Wedge smiled big, bigger than anyone Cloud had seen smile before in response, and motioned to the end of the vent.
    
    "Jessie's at the end of the vent," he informed the warrior. "She'll give you new info on the reactor," he began, and then hesitated slightly before continuing, "and info on just what went wrong on the train."
    
    The team nodded and slapped hands, before Cloud, Barret, and Tifa proceeded through the vents into the next bowels of the reactor.
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    Jessie was waiting for the team solemnly as they emerged from the vent into the next room. They stopped and looked at each other silently, before Jessie began, "I'm sorry."
    
    "The ID scan problem on the train was all my fault," she explained. She turned to Cloud apologetically. "I made your card special….so that's why it happened." She sighed. "I put my heart into making it….but I failed."
    
    "It's fine, Jess," Barret comforted her. He motioned for Cloud and Tifa to move out as he patted her on the shoulder and left himself. Tifa followed closely behind.
    
    As Cloud began to leave, he heard Jessie behind him speak much more cheerfully, "Next time, I'll give you something a little more decent." Cloud nodded to her and gave one last smile to her, one that lifted her spirits. "I'll be back at the hideout in my research room working on it!" she said as though rejuvenated. Cloud smiled again quickly despite himself at the antic, and felt he could at least leave her with the knowledge that at least she was content.
    
    "Cloud," she called to him as he prepared to leave. "Do you want to know why your card was made so special?"
    
    "Sure," he replied back with interest that he hadn't previously shown for her technological whimsies.
    
    "It was made so that you could completely bypass all of the sensors and reach the reactor without having to do all of this circumventing and sneaking around," she explained. "A lot of good that did, huh?"
    
    "It's all right, really," Cloud called back as he left to catch up with Barret and Tifa. With leaving though, a new though piqued his curiosity. He reached into the folds of his pocket, and pulled out his Identification card and suddenly realized why it was so special. 
    
    His identity on that train had been Rufus Shinra, Vice-President of Shinra Corporation.
    
    Finally, the exuberant Biggs sat at the final hold, smiling at a magnitude that Cloud thought could perhaps approach Wedge's in size. "Good job, everyone!" he praised. "The reactor's just up ahead." He nodded to Barret and gave a warm handshake to his leader. "We're gonna pull out now. We'll meet up at the hideout." Then, without further thought as he departed, he called back, "Cloud, we're countin' on you to blow the reactor!" The near hyperactive Biggs left them at last, half of the AVALANCHE team's work done at last.
    
    Cloud, Tifa, and Barret all emerged from the stifling holds into the brightly luminescent reactor innards that they had all familiarized themselves with. The Mako in the reactor gave off a blue glow as opposed to the green glow that had filled the Number 1 Reactor. Cloud was the first to notice the package chute. "This should lead us straight down to the reactor," he conjectured. Without hesitation, he jumped in and slid down the chute with ease to the bottom. Tifa soon followed in even quicker pursuit, and then for 30 seconds they both waited for Barret to descend.
    
    "I got stuck, stupid fools!" he complained as he squeezed out of the tight fitting slide with anger. 
    
     "Be careful," Cloud warned, ignoring his ranting. "We need to be stealthy. Don't let anybody sound the alarm, got it? SOLDIER's been mobilized, and I don't think you want them interfering in the operation." He looked purposefully at them both. "Kill silently, move silently. The mark of a true warrior when outnumbered."
    
    Cloud, Barret, and Tifa approached the first door of the reactor, each of them noting it with an impressed look. As soon as Tifa opened the door, however, an unpleasant sound reached their ears.
    
    "Intruders! You! Sound the alarm!"
    
    _Special combatants_, Cloud cursed. High powered laser and plasma wielding soldiers, they weren't much of a threat, but their human existence gave them enough cognizances to call for backup. A squad of them stood battle ready, sans the fleeing member who was dashing for the alarm. A duo of Smogger Roboguards and a trio of sanguine Blood Pain mutant dogs awaited as well.
    
    "Tifa!" Cloud shouted, pointing to the fleeing soldier, "Get him!"
    
    Tifa sprung into action, springing up onto a bar and utilizing mind-boggling acrobatics in a race to him, taking shortcuts and crossing the girders above and below the man upon the catwalk whenever she could.
    
    Meanwhile, Barret and Cloud had begun to pick apart the beam wielding special combatants, dodging and sprinting about before incapacitating or tearing them apart. The dogs fell quickly as well to the hail of Barret's gunfire, leaving only a Smogger apiece for each of them to engage in single combat, in which they did so unhesitantly, leaping into action against the poison and sludge spewing robotic monstrosities. 
    
    The special combatant was nearly at the control tower, nearly able to reach the alarm system to alert all of Shinra that AVALANCHE had chosen the Number 5 Reactor as its next target. To his great surprise, however, he saw a stunning brunette blocking his way as he approached the entrance. 
    
    The guard began to raise his beam weapon to Tifa, readying his aim. As soon as he attempted to do so, Tifa charged him forcefully. Then, finally, she raised her gloved hand and struck him across the face with such force that it could not even be disputed that his jaw had broke. In a second, final maneuver, she applied a brutal kick to his midsection, shattering his ribcage and breaking bone and sinew, killing the armored guard instantly.
    
    "All clear up here!" Tifa shouted down to both Cloud and Barret as she performed her final move.
    
    Cloud finished his Smogger by frying its electrical system with a Bolt spell, leaving it a broken junkpile just as Barret had left his. "Let's go!" he called. "This time, no more hindrances," he forcefully stated to the tired Barret, tossing him a potion to him in an attempt to rejuvenate the energy he had previously possessed.
    
    There were indeed no more setbacks as they descended into the familiar looking bowels of the reactor, each of the AVALANCHE members eluding discovery tactically until they reached at last the catwalk leading to the core. Breathing at least ten times easier, the team began to approach the core.
    
    And then Cloud's unseen assailant attacked him again. 
    
    Without warning, as Cloud approached the engine that powered the core he was assaulted by the familiar whine and screeched of the unworldly noises that filled his head, rocking it in a tidal wave of pain. Holding his head, Cloud bent down and rose and fell in pain. 
    
    But this time, there were no words formulated from the noises that bombarded him. The sounds only grew higher and higher, resounding in his head until he could only see what his eyes could not. 
    
    Cloud saw the past.
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    _Tifa shook the lifeless body of her father in the groans of the old reactor. The chains and the engine's roar did not drown out her sobs in the least. They served only to accentuate them, to make them seem louder to the listening Cloud that kneeled only a few yards away from her._
    
    _"Papa," Tifa whispered in agony, cradling his maimed body in her young but still strong arms._
    
    _"Sephiroth!" she cried in realization, tracing the cuts that traversed the entire length of his body. "Sephiroth did this to you, didn't he!" _
    
    _"Sephiroth...," she began. "SOLDIER...," she continued. "Mako Reactors... Shinra... Everything!" she screamed in a mortal hatred. "I hate them all!"_
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    And then the imageless pictures faded as the noise died out, leaving Cloud kneeled out on the catwalk as he had been in the vision he just experienced.
    
    "Damn, man, get a hold of yourself!" were the first words that Cloud heard from Barret as he snapped out of the piercing scream of the noise.
    
    Cloud ignored him, staring only at the young woman in front of him. "Tifa," he started.
    
    "Mmm?" she responded normally, as though Cloud was still just his old self, pushing away the uncomfortable incident.
    
    "No... forget...," Cloud started, understanding what she was hinting at. "Come on, let's hurry!" he snapped strangely, in an attempt to regain control of the situation. The Ex-SOLDIER rose in an undeniably dramatic pose, and turned to Barret before progressing. "I know," he said knowingly. "You're my watch, right?"
    
    "Damn straight," Barret replied curtly. "Tifa's old friend….," he said icily. "That ain't good enough."
    
    "All right, I'll set it right this time," Cloud assented, procuring the bomb and placing it within extremely close proximity of the engine on the catwalk. "That should do it," he observed triumphantly. "Now," he triumphantly commanded, "Let's go!"
    
    And with typical brevity the AVALANCHE team slunk out of the reactor core and began to ascend stealthily to the surface.
    
    In place of using the slide that was their insertion point to escape, the plan was to use the cargo elevator that was akin to the one used in the Number 1 Reactor to escape. As they rose to the top, Cloud mused the lack of battles, challenge, and obstacles despite the fact that Shinra was on a highly elevated security level, and had mobilized SOLDIER to boot.
    
    _It was too easy_, he commented silently with a perturbed expression of doubt on his face.
    
    "Cloud?" Tifa asked, tapping him on the shoulder once again.
    
    "What?" he responded, breaking out of his depressing attitude once again.
    
    "Take these," she ordered, handing him a series of tissue-thin slips. "Palm prints," she explained. "We'll need them to get out of here."
    
    Cloud nodded. Reaching out, he began to slip on each of the palm prints, finishing just as the elevator reached the Number 5 Reactor's security door.
    
    "No code this time," Barret said. "All codes have been ruled invalid—only Biometrics will suffice this time," he explained, slipping on his own pair of palm prints along with Tifa. "There's the Control Room," he spotted. With no other words, the team ran through the corridors and into the room.
    
    The room sported only one major terminal, one that had three scanning monitors. Tifa spoke up again. "Jessie said that we all need to press the button as hard as we can at the same time," she relayed the information. "Pound it palm down, actually."
    
    "Alright!" Barret affirmed. "One…two….three!" he counted, ending with him and his partners slamming their hands down onto the three scanners on the terminal, heralding a ring of confirmation."
    
    _Too easy_, Cloud complained silently again as the three of them crossed the threshold and entered the final catwalk to the exit of the reactor. _At this rate, we'll be on the train out of here before the reactor even blows...._
    
    "This way!" Barret commanded as he turned left at a fork in the catwalk. But before he could reach the door in front of him, it was opened forcefully, revealing an entire platoon of Shinra soldiers who immediately blocked the exit. "Shinra soldiers?" Barret gaped, shocked.
    
    Barret looked around at the leagues of enemies that enveloped him. "SHIT!" he swore. "What the hell's goin' on?"
    
    Cloud sighed, his suspicions confirmed. "A trap…." he murmured.
    
    Then, a most startlingly thing happened to the three trapped members of AVALANCHE. From within the bowels of the reactor itself, a figure approached slowly. Short and stout, he still radiated an aura of power. To those that knew the reach of his power, it translated into one of invincibility. Though his blue eyes did not glow and his curled thinning hair did not spike, his presence was far more imposing than any mere SOLDIER could match.
    
    Barret was shocked beyond belief. "Presi... President Shinra?" he sputtered quietly.
    
    "What is the President doing here?" Tifa asked aloud similarly, and for the first time asked herself how deep she was actually committed to getting into the mission of AVALANCHE.
    
    The President spoke suddenly, his rough, callous voice filling the dead air. "Hmm... So you all must be that... ...what was it?"
    
    "AVALANCHE!" Barret screamed with renewed audacity. "And don't ya forget it!" The dark man observed the lavishly clothed stout man with clinical interest. "And you're President Shinra, huh?" he demanded.
    
    Cloud then cut Barret off unconsciously as he passed him silently and approached President Shinra. Sheathing his large sword into his bandolier, he began talking unfazedly.
    
    "Long time no see, President."
    
    "Long time no see?" the President repeated, confused. Staring at his eyes, he experienced a flash of realization and continued again. "Oh... you. You're the one who quit SOLDIER and joined AVALANCHE. I knew you'd been exposed to Mako, from the look in your eyes...," he spoke with casual interest. "Tell me, traitor, what was your name?"
    
    "Strife," came the cold reply.
    
    "Forgive me for asking," the President continued calmly, "but I can't be expected to remember each person's name." He then seemed to delve into a complicated thought, one that seemed to hold his fancy more than the rebels he was now confronting. "Unless you become another Sephiroth," he added. President Shinra sighed as he spoke. "Yes, Sephiroth... He was brilliant. Perhaps too brilliant..."
    
    "Sephiroth….?" Cloud repeated, now just as stunned as his companions had been.
    
    Barret stepped up to contend with the President again as Cloud appeared to back down. "Don't give a damn 'bout none of that!" he screamed. "This place's goin' up with a big bang soon! Serves y'all right!" He let out a mirthless guffaw as he stared down the President once more.
    
    "And such a waste of good fireworks, just to get rid of vermin like you…." the President retorted in a wounding barb.
    
    "And what about mobilizing SOLDIER against us?" Tifa demanded of him in response.
    
    The president let out a presumptuous guffaw of his own. "SOLDIER? We didn't need to bother them with such vermin as…."
    
    "VERMIN!?" Barret interrupted in a frenzy, cutting him off decisively. "That's all you can say... VERMIN!" He continued to vent his rage in spades. "Y'all Shinra the VERMIN, killing the planet! And that makes you King VERMIN! So shu'up jackass!"
    
    The President only noted this outrage with a slight yawn. "You are beginning to bore me," he commented, his voice unchanging and methodically cruel. "I'm a very busy man, so if you'll excuse me….," he callously finished, "I have a dinner I must attend.
    
    "Dinner!?" Barret bellowed in outrage of being slighted. "Don't gimme that! I ain't even start wit' you yet!"
    
    "But I've made arrangement for a playmate for you all," the President sneered, chuckling bemusedly at his prey's ignorance. He snapped his fingers in a quick motion, the click of the movement as audible as a gunshot. 
    
    "Meet 'Airbuster'," the President began as a giant robot emerged from the newly opened right side of the walkway. It was literally armed to the teeth with explosives, energy weapons, machine guns, real time sensors, and a hovering mechanism. The robot charged full throttle onto the catwalk and past the bewildered Tifa and Barret to face Cloud, who was on the perpendicular platform with the President.
    
    "A techno-soldier," the snide President continued. "Our Weapon Development Department created him." He then smiled a dark smile that seemed to reflect nothing but evil. "I'm sure the data he'll extract from your dead bodies will be of great use to us in future experiments."
    
    "Techno-soldier?" Cloud murmured, staring the monstrosity down. So preoccupied were the three, they did not even notice the Shinra helicopter descend and hover near the catwalk President Shinra stood upon.
    
    "Now then, if you'll excuse me," the President remarked greasily, entering the helicopter just as AVALANCHE realized what he was doing.
    
    "Wait, President!" Cloud cried all too late as his chopper ascended into the air and out of sight.
    
    "Yo, Cloud!" Barret shouted to the staring mercenary. "We've gotta do somethin' 'bout him!"
    
    "Help, Cloud!" Tifa agreed as the gigantic droid charged Barret and her ruthlessly again. She looked at the large, lumbering giant again as she dived out of the way. "This is from SOLDIER?" she questioned, staring at the scale and cumbersomeness of the machine.
    
    "No way!" Cloud shot back in response. "It's just a machine."
    
    "I don't care what it is!" Barret finished decisively. "I'm gonna bust him up!"
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    As if on cue, the Airbuster fired an energy beam directly at Tifa and Barret, causing them both to scatter from the impact. Cloud, however, remained behind the machine, lurking for his chance to strike. "I'll short-circuit it right now!" he declared, concentrating as hard as he could while he said it. "Bolt!" he shouted, and then watched in near horror as the electric attack was absorbed into the shock absorbers on the Airbuster's hover module.
    
    "The hell?!?" Barret exclaimed. "It didn't even hurt him!"
    
    "Yeah," Cloud called over to him. "It's protected against Lightning magic." Their conversation was interrupted then by a counterattack by the Airbuster, which, rather than turn about, activated its rear gun turrets. Cloud barely had enough time to react and flip over the volley as it fired towards him.
    
    "So," Barret asked as he watched his bullets ping harmlessly off of the Airbuster's armor and viewed Tifa's Ice magic as it fizzled on contact with the metal, "how do we kill it?"
    
    "We still have to find a way to short circuit it," Cloud explained, "but we can't use Lightning to do it. We have to hit it with an overwhelmingly powerful blow of raw energy."
    
    "Big Shot!" Barret exclaimed.
    
    "What?" came Cloud's stupefied reply.
    
    "Program Big Shot," Barret explained. "I can set my gun-arm to intake and overload on pure energy for a massive hit. The energy from the shot is off the charts!"
    
    "Okay," Cloud agreed. "How long will it take to prepare?"
    
    "A little," Barret said. "Regardless," he continued, "I won't be able to pull it off until you turn this guy around to your side." He stopped talking and firing to dive out of the way of another energy blast.
    
    "If there's anything I can get you, it's time," Cloud whispered to himself. "Tifa!" he called to his spell casting partner. "Can you get over to my side of the catwalk?"
    
    "All right!" the woman yelled in agreement. She immediately took a running start, and jumped onto the side railing, sliding to the other side while simultaneously applying a thunderous kick to the side of the Airbuster, ripping through much of its armor and metal and crippling its left side to boot. She landed right beside Cloud with a flourish.
    
    "That was effective," he commented in an understatement, watching Tifa land beside him. "Okay!" he cried. "Go for the armor, but don't try to cripple its movement."
    
    With no more talk, the female fighter and the male warrior worked in tandem, launching targeted after targeted attack against the machine's backside. In all, it was too much for the machine to counter with its rear gun attacks. The machine then used its turn function, whirling around to face Cloud and Tifa while Barret continued to charge his gun.
    
    In a violent counter, the machine then barreled into Cloud, sending him flying at such a great distance that it was a miracle on its own that he remained on the catwalk. The machine then charged Tifa the same way, with a quite similar result.
    
    "Cure-All!" cried Cloud as he staggered to his feet, revitalizing the group and healing the wounds that had been inflicted. His magical prowess was taxed to the limit, however, and he knew he would perform no more useful spells.
    
    "Let's go for the movement now, Tifa!" Cloud ordered as they rejoined. With a battle cry of anger, they rushed the robot. Cloud plunged his sword into the machine's hovering mechanism, while Tifa delivered a devastating blow into the mechanism as well, destroying all armor and the circuitry itself.
    
    Airbuster seemed confused for a moment as it realized it was a stationary target. It then began to click and whir, loading its explosive devices into its cannons in its final and most powerful line of defense. Cloud then saw the reflection of the headset's screen on the reflective metal floor of the girders below, just barely.
    
    _Big Bomber._
    
    "Move to the railings!" Cloud commanded Tifa, just as a bombardment of bombs, missiles, and other low impact, high concentration explosives converged on their location, missing them only by the virtue that both of them had been hanging from the railings on the side of the catwalk. Cloud then noticed that Tifa's side of the catwalk was beginning to groan and buckle. 
    
    "Move back to Barret!" Cloud desperately advised. Tifa complied just as her former side broke and hung, while simultaneously swinging Cloud's side up just enough so he could clamber on again.
    
    "I've had enough!" he screamed in true fury at the Airbuster, with no regard to worry of who would see him anymore. Without any further thought for consequence, he advanced on the slanted catwalk and plunged his sword deep into the Airbuster, lodging it there and twisting it, crushing the innards.
    
    "I'm done!" Barret suddenly yelled. "Big Shot!" A surge of orange energy erupted from Barret's gun-arm, impacting the back of the Airbuster with an extreme force, and even Cloud winced in pain from the impact.
    
    Airbuster stopped. It lowered its head as its circuitry cracked and fizzled, and seemed to be shutting down for good. But just as Cloud began to attempt to dislodge his weapon from Airbuster, it forcefully and without warning exploded violently, blasting Cloud into the air and destroying a large section of the catwalk. With his free hand, Cloud reached out for a jagged piece of metal on the newly destroyed catwalk, and hung there despite being weighed down by the massive sword in his other hand.
    
    Barret and Tifa just stared at Cloud then, watching him hang as he struggled to maintain a grip on the metal. A rumble started from within the reactor. "It's gonna blow!" Barret warned insistently. "Let's go, Tifa!"
    
    Tifa looked back to Barret with a shocked expression on her face. "Barret!" she cried. "Can't you do something?"
    
    Barret shook his head no. "Not a damn thing," he whispered.
    
    Tifa looked back to Cloud pleadingly. "Cloud!" she begged. "Please don't die! You can't die!" She reached out for him unconsciously. "There's still so much I want to tell you!"
    
    "I know, Tifa…." Cloud responded, struggling even harder as he slipped.
    
    "Hey, you gonna be alright?" Barret asked as he watched the struggling Cloud fight for his life.
    
    "You worry about yourselves!" Cloud commanded, unwilling to think of what might await him in the darkness below. "I'm all right, but take care of Tifa!"
    
    "Alright," Barret said slowly. He shrugged. "Sorry 'bout all this."
    
    Cloud grimaced and looked over too him despite his pain. "Stop talking like this is the end!"
    
    "Alright, then, later," Barret said as coolly as he could.
    
    The reactor rocked and erupted into a new type of fiery explosion, one that shook that catwalk with such force that Cloud was tossed like a rag doll from his precarious position, and he began to plummet into the enveloping darkness below.
    
    Tifa tried to reach for him, only to be restrained by Barret. She cried out as she was and let herself be taken in her sadness in Barret's arms, to be dragged out of the reactor if need be.
    
    _And we just wanted you to wake up...._
    
    _Fall, child, descend into the darkness of the earth; let it swallow you, envelope you...._
    
    _But do not fear._
    
    _For within every darkness there lies a light._
    
    End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: All rights to Final Fantasy 7, all respective parties, and virtually anything I write about even remotely related to said topics are copyright of Squaresoft. : (

Final Fantasy VII

Chapter 4: A Lone Flower Blooming in the Church

_Darkness…_

Ever since he could remember, his life had been shrouded in darkness.

That was, if he ever would remember…

_I remember pain…_

_Anger…_

_Frustration…_

The thoughts always crystallized, formed into questions that begat more questions—impossible to be undone.

_Got into a lot of fights as a child—that's what she said._

_Sounds about right…_

_So why the hell can't I remember?_

**_You all right?_**

****

_You…_

**_Can you hear me?_**

****

_Yeah…_

**_You worry about things too much!_**

****

_What…?_

**_Why beat yourself up over things you can never change?_**

****

_Nothing else to do in the darkness…_

**_I told you before…in every darkness there lies a light._**

****

_Ha…no matter how small or insignificant. Just like…_

**_Back then…_**

****

_Hmm…_

**_You could get by with just skinned knees…_**

****

_What do you mean by 'back then'?_

**_What about now? Can you get up?_**

****

_What do you mean by 'that time'?_
    
    **_Don't worry about me. You just worry about yourself now._**
    
    ****
    
    _I'll give it a try._
    
    **_All you needed was to say that…_**
    
    ****
    
    "Oh! It moved!"
    
    _Who the…_
    
    **_How about that? Take it slow now. Little by little…_**
    
    ****
    
    "Hello? Hello?"
    
    _Hey…who are you?_
    
    "Hello? Hello?"
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    Cloud's slow shivering and twitching in response to the worried greeting that met him finally culminated in a final convulsion as he staggered into consciousness. His eyes began to open slowly to meet the blurs and sounds of what appeared to be an all too calm and peaceful setting. The colors began to complement each other rather than contrast, and the atmosphere was filled with an aura of caring rather than the dismal settings he was accustomed to. The bedazzled warrior, stunned upon contact with the setting, immediately stirred as best as he could manage. This proved to be to no avail, as waves of pain immediately surged and racked his body from the strain of the sudden movement, forcing his body again into a prone position as the sharp stabs and agonizing burns of pain assaulted his body.
    
    "You okay?" a sufficiently concerned voice inquired as Cloud fell again into his ravaged state once more. Awaiting no confirmation from the pained man, the speaker grasped his weakening body and turned it over to face the sunlight that poured into the already sublime setting. As the sunlight began to softly touch down upon his face, the caress of the beams seemed to strengthen him by the moment while the kiss of the rays seemed to almost wash away the expression of pain impressed on his features. Seemingly rejuvenated, he opened his eyes slowly and began to adjust to the bright sunlight.
    
    And then as his eyes started to clear, he began to make out an ocean of green that seemed to envelope him in warmth. 
    
    Cloud realized that he was staring into two dazzling emerald eyes, whose warmth and familiarity seemed almost eerily comforting. He began to wonder if he had died and gone to a better place.
    
    Another painful throb jolted him back to reality, as well as force his eyes closed as he retched in agony. And then he felt as though the sunlight were rejuvenating him once more and bringing him back to that same place of comfort. He forced his eyes open once more and was once again greeted by the soft glitter of the eyes from before. The eyes began to become distinct from the slowly appearing features of an inquisitive face, a slightly upturned nose, and an earnest (despite worried) smile.
    
    Cloud knew who this person was.
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    The woman crouching over Cloud watched his stirring with joyful relief. She grasped the back of his head and helped him ease upwards. After a few failed attempts, they managed him into a sitting position. She then sat back and watched closely his slow return out of the other world that had consumed him.
    
    The battered fighter now examined his caretaker in full view, captivated by the sight as he continued to recover from his wounds. The girl standing before him was an image to behold. Her eyes, an emerald and jade green, seemed to be composed of liquid, and to possess warmth that Cloud had never seen before. Her face and skin all seemed to glow as the sunlight radiated off of her in streams. Her long, chestnut hair came down in front of her face in two curved bangs, while the rest was tied back with a ribbon, twirled and tied into a long slender braid that formed into a ponytail that seemed to dance upon the currents of wind that flitted about.
    
    She wore a long pink dress, joined by buttons from the waist down, all fastened except the bottom two, which caused the dress to unfurl slightly and hint at her bottom ankle. Her dress was complemented by a small red jacket with both cutoff sleeves and top. Watching her eyes more and more, he kept wondering exactly what had happened. He wanted to know why the person standing over him was the same flower girl that he had encountered just a day before. 
    
    The girl sensed his wonderment and confusion as well. Taking it to signify a need to know one's surroundings, the girl finally spoke up again. "This is a church in the Sector 5 slums," she started slowly.
    
    _Sector 5!_ Cloud thought with a start. _Of course…but how did I?_
    
    "You fell from above," the slender girl continued slowly, outlining to the perplexed Cloud. Immediately Cloud turned his stare to her directly. She nodded upwards in response, leading the Ex-SOLDIER's sight upwards to see a large gaping hole at the ceiling of the building they were in. "You suddenly fell on top of me," she mused, turning his attention back to her. She gave out a small, wistful laugh. "It really gave me a scare."
    
    Cloud suddenly noticed the strewn wood and planks surrounding him, as well as the fact that the streaks of sunlight that had seemed to revive him had been let into the building only by virtue of the hole that had been created itself. He turned back to his tender slowly. "I came crashing down?" he stated, almost in a daze.
    
    She nodded in reply. "The roof and the flower bed must have broken your fall," she enumerated. She continued to stare at him quietly then, creating an awkward silence that pervaded until she continued, "You're lucky."
    
    Cloud looked down on this statement and saw that he had been lying on a bed of flowers, their dainty softness responsible for the cushion that he now recovered upon. Then he again looked to the girl, and realized why there were so many blossoms below him. "Flower bed…," he said in quiet fashion. "Is this yours?"
    
    Flustered from his recognition that he had been responsible for the destruction of the flower girl's wares, her source of living, he jumped to his feet in a motion that took his caretaker off her feet, and brushed himself off in a near frantic maneuver. 
    
    He turned back to the woman beside him, and waited as they both examined each other curiously. The strangeness of their chance meeting culminating into this was more than each of them had been prepared for. "Sorry about that," Cloud finally apologized.
    
    "That's all right," the girl cheerily replied without hesitation. Cloud looked at her quizzically as she continued, "The flowers here are quite resilient because this is a sacred place." She gestured to the impression on the flower bed that his fallen body had caused. As Cloud looked to it, he saw the flowers had not been crushed, but had merely been weighed down, and were now stretching up to the sunlight as they had before he had ever even entered. He looked to the flower girl with awe.
    
    "They say you can't grow grass and flowers in Midgar," she whispered, leaving Cloud to wonder if she was addressing him or if she was merely talking to herself. At that thought, the flower girl turned back to him from her reverie. "But for some reason, the flowers have no problem blooming here," she said to the warrior in a manner that seemed to him in what he saw as a hinting desperation. He stepped back as she moved to the center of the flower bed and begin to look upward to the newly revealed sky.
    
    "I love it here," she finished contentedly.
    
    Cloud suddenly realized that he had no idea where 'here' was. He looked around for reference to the area that he was in. As if on cue for this, the sunlight seemed to strengthen, allowing him to view the place in its entirety. 
    
    The place had certainly been a church. The building looked like it dated back to the pre-Midgar towns that had populated its once fertile land. It now, however, looked wholly decrepit, signaling more that anything the departure of the people of Midgar from religion. The church's age showed foremostly in its makeup, which was almost completely comprised of wood, and in its structure, as the hole Cloud had created was not the only damage it had suffered over the years. The benches that had once been used for service were mostly smashed and broken. The altar had been crushed to rubble at least decades ago. And, most importantly, the brilliant golden candlesticks and the ornate bowls and cups used in services had long since been all but plundered.
    
    But an aura of holiness still seemed to exist in the flower bed that the woman standing before him had nourished and tended to. There still existed stained glass windows high above that had not been shattered, windows that had let in light before Cloud's rough landing. Each different color of the window produced a different color of light, which in seemingly miraculous turn fell upon flowers of that exact same color. Cloud couldn't figure out if the flower girl had just arranged the flowers in this fashion or if they were just naturally occurring. Finally, the pure sunlight that poured into the church from above that hit the flowers seemed to transform the middle set that it hit into a dazzling myriad of colors. 
    
    _Resilient_, Cloud mused. _Of course the flowers survived my fall; they've survived the Midgar slums—along with this church._ He then turned his attention to the flower girl, who had resumed tending the flowers undaunted by the fact that they didn't seem to be damaged at all. He moved closely as he continued to examine her, so much that he was startled when she spoke up as he moved within inches of her.
    
    "So," she commented, "we meet again." She moved directly about so that their faces came into almost direct alignment, and her expectant look met Cloud's ambiguous expression. "Don't you remember me?" she asked more of his uncomfortable silence than any of his other traits.
    
    Cloud's bewilderment grew even more at such an enigma, such strangeness growing in the depths of the slums. Straightening himself up and acting as collected as he could, he responded, "Yeah, I remember you…you were selling flowers."
    
    "Oh! I'm so happy!" the woman exclaimed in response, although Cloud couldn't seem to see a reason why she would be so happy to such extent. The girl simultaneously answered his inquiry by continuing the exclamation, "Thanks for buying my flowers from me." In that instant he realized that he had paid hundreds of times more for the flowers than the going price, and that act of generosity was probably factoring into some of the cheerful attitude that he felt was at most unwarranted.
    
    "Say, do you have any materia?" the woman inquired abruptly, as if probing for some common bond. Cloud, in response, was immediately reminded of his combative situation. Conducting a quick search of the rubble amidst the bewildered flower merchant, he eventually recovered his sword and raised it to the sky, letting the orbs within the weapon as well as upon his arm bracelet twinkle in the light.
    
    "Yes, some," he stated, underscoring the fact of their prominence. He turned away and spoke in a clinical tone, "Nowadays you can find materia anywhere."
    
    "But mine is special," the flower girl pressed. "It's good for absolutely nothing." She spoke extremely matter-of-factly, without any apparent fraud or malice.
    
    "Good for nothing?" Cloud repeated skeptically. "You probably just don't know how to use it."
    
    "No, I do…," the woman insisted. "It just doesn't do anything." As Cloud started to protest again, she cut him off, saying, "I feel safe having it. It was my mother's." As silence once again persisted after this statement, the flower girl finally abandoned all pretenses. She wheeled right over to Cloud and spoke to him very loudly, "Say, I feel like talking. Do you feel up to it?" As the familiar expression of confusion began to take hold of the Ex-SOLDIER, she extrapolated, "After all, here we are meeting again, right?"
    
    Cloud shrugged as calmly as he could. "I don't mind," he stammered.
    
    "Wait here," the woman commanded with immediate exuberance. "I've got to check my flowers. It'll be just a minute." She then made her way back to the edge of the flowerbed, a green and yellow combination of blooms that matched the light from the stained glass that happened to fall on the same. For a few minutes she tended the blossoms, calling out "Just a little longer," every now and then while Cloud continued to stand there quite uncomfortably. Then, without warning, the flower girl turned around and seemed to view him in a different light. 
    
    "Oh! Now that you mention it," she exclaimed, regardless of the fact that he hadn't mentioned anything, "we don't know each other's names, do we?" She brushed herself off and stood erect in full view. "My name is Aeris Gainsborough," she stated formally. Almost immediately she herself seemed to be put off by her own rigidity. Relaxing herself, she moved to the warrior deftly and whispered as casually as she could (and much more poignantly in Cloud's opinion), "I'm Aeris, the flower girl. Nice to meet you."
    
    "The name's Cloud," Cloud responded much more authoratively than he had been doing before. Somehow, having a grasp of this person's name, at least, filled him with confidence and control, enough to conceal his astoundment at such a peculiar girl. "Me?" he continued undauntedly. "I do a bit of everything."
    
    "Oh…," the girl now revealed as Aeris Gainsborough replied abashedly. "A jack of all trades." The exchange of names had seemed to change her demeanor as well.
    
    "Yeah, I do whatever's needed," came a quick reply from the warrior. Cloud's response to this statement, however, was unexpected: the flower girl began to start giggling uncontrollably. Cloud's astonishment returned to him in full force, and he, unable to conceal it again, demanded, "What's so funny? What are you laughing at?"
    
    Aeris' giggles began to subside as she listened to the indignation of the strange man that had literally dropped into her life. She hadn't meant to upset him too much: she had only started giggling to conceal her frustration with the situation. The man intrigued her, to be sure, after their strange chance meeting had led to this event. Plus, the man was also…
    
    _No! _her mind screamed as her laughing began to fade completely (attributing as much from her dismay as from anything else). _I won't let myself be carried away by delusions_, she vowed. _Not again. _
    
    The man before her had begun to dispel the delusions at first, however. His demeanor at first, when he was still recuperating from his injuries, had been much more relaxing to Aeris: so unguarded, so astonished, so different and refreshing. Then the tone of his interactions changed altogether, now cockiness and arrogance seemed to rule his personality. Just like…
    
    "Sorry…," she apologized as well as wipe the last suggestive thought from her head. "I just…" Her apology, however, completely cut off as her head rose to spot an ominous shadow in the doorway of the church. Immediately she turned her head about to Cloud with a manner of urgency that seemed to consume her features.
    
    "Say Cloud," she began in a peculiarly heightened tone. Then, without warning, she blurted out, "Have you ever been a bodyguard?" She continued, "You DO do everything, right?" undauntedly to the stunned Ex-SOLDIER, capitalizing on his previous boast.
    
    "Yeah, that's right," he replied as unembarrassedly he could, silently cursing his arrogance in the face of such an unpredictable person.
    
    "Then, get me out of here," Aeris demanded. "Take me home." Cloud stared; intrigued at the prospect for a reason unbeknownst to him as well as to know exactly what she had seen in the shadows that had got her so riled.
    
    "Okay, I'll do it…," he agreed with feigned reluctance. "But it'll cost you," he warned.
    
    "Well then, let's see…," the flower girl playfully countered. A grin broke out over her face that increased Cloud's apprehension just as she said, "How about if I go out with you once?"
    
    _What?_ was the first thought that popped into Cloud's mind. His mind began to race as it flooded with the question repeatedly. He hadn't expected that, at most he had anticipated an offer of a few gil or perhaps some flowers. Then a new thought crossed his mind: did he prefer this alternative?
    
    Whatever his thoughts were, they were soon completely eclipsed as from the shadows that had caught Aeris' attention a few minutes back dark clothed men began to emerge from the shadows of the doorway. Leading the men was a tall, gaunt, confident man clad in a sharp blue suit. 
    
    Cloud examined the leader man closely. His hair was as spiky as his own, though much more stubbled, and the color of his hair flashed an almost artificial appearing bright red. A pair of light blue menacing eyes accompanied his features, which seemed to flicker with each of his long purposeful strides. Though he could not make out the distinct features of any of the men that followed him, the warrior immediately spoke up when the enigma came into view. 
    
    "I don't know who you are, but…," the Ex-SOLDIER began menacingly, then stopped short as he saw the dark suited man's eyes' next flicker reveal recognition. Cloud paused. "You don't know me…," he asserted, thinking out loud and wondering why the gaunt man seemed to know him.
    
    Unexpectedly an image of blue suited men crossed into his head, all arrogant, all singling out people for one task or another while ragtag nervous boys waited to be selected. A single phrase dominated his thoughts.
    
    _I know you._
    
    "Oh yeah…," Cloud said in realization. "I know you." He grimaced. "That uniform…"
    
    One of the men behind the blue suited one stepped forward, revealing the classic Shinra MP uniform in the light of the church. "Hey sis," he said with a smirk, nodding to the scowling Aeris as he talked, "this one's a little weird."
    
    "Shut up!" Cloud exploded in return. "You Shinra spy!"
    
    "Hey Reno!" another Shinra soldier shouted. "Want him taken out?"
    
    "I haven't decided yet," the blue-suited man now revealed to be Reno responded coldly.
    
    "Don't fight here!" Aeris pleaded to both parties alike. "You'll ruin the flowers!" She nodded in the opposite direction to Cloud. "The exit is back there," she advised. Without any more pleasantries, they both took off hurriedly, leaving a stupefied Reno and his three Shinra soldiers to contemplate the new warrior.
    
    "They were…Mako eyes," he mused softly as he stepped forward methodically through the flower bed, crushing the flowers with steel toed boots. Noting his comrades' guffaws at his inability to take a hold of the situation, he stopped cold. "Yeah, all right," he said coldly, stifling the laughter. "Back to work, back to work." As he stepped through to lead to follow he called back, "Oh!...and don't step on the flowers."
    
    "Hey Reno, you just stepped on them!"
    
    "They're all ruined!"
    
    "You're gonna catch holy hell!"
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    "Weapons!" was the first word out of Cloud's mouth when he and Aeris reached the back corridors of the church.
    
    "What?" Aeris said as her look upon him changed to one of peculiarity.
    
    "Weapons!" he repeated. "Armor! Do you have any?"
    
    Reaching into a small alcove in a rusted wall, she responded, "Nothing but this," as she procured a single long metal staff with one obvious materia slot. Cloud glanced down to her bare arms in response and noticed her lack of armor as well. He unclipped the Iron Bangle from his wrist (making sure to slip in his Restore materia into the armor in exchange for his Lightning) and tossed it to her. 
    
    "Here," he said. "Some protection from whoever's chasing us." With that, he snapped the Lightning materia into his sword, junctioning it to the unremoved All. "Let's go!" he commanded, throwing the flower girl off guard with his newly revealed authority. 
    
    Cloud and Aeris both clambered up the stairs into the rafters of the church per her directions, climbing non-stop until they encountered an ornate door that appeared to be rusted off its hinges. As they approached it, however, they heard a voice resound from below. "There they are, over there!" Reno cried, heralding an unexpected burst of Shinra from all of the doorways in the church, including the one directly in front of them. 
    
    After taking Aeris into his arms and retreating to a higher rafter, Cloud stopped and turned to her expectantly. Just as Aeris began to open her mouth, she gasped and shouted, "Cloud…that one!" just as another Shinra began to ascend to their position. Cloud whirled about and plunged his sword downward, knocking the MP off his precarious ledge. He turned back to Aeris tiredly.
    
    "I know," he confirmed, surveying the veritable swarm of blue frenzics that began to close in. "Looks like they aren't going to let us go," he commented half jokingly.
    
    "What should we do?" Aeris asked pleadingly as with mounting worry as she saw the soldiers close in.
    
    "Well, we can't let them catch us, can we?" Cloud rationalized, regaining his composure. He nodded meaningfully to her. "Then there's only one thing left." With that statement, he bounded upwards in a superhuman leap to another rafter, barely clearing the jump. "Aeris! This way!" he bellowed, motioning for Aeris to follow, but was met with a skeptical frown from the flower girl as she surveyed the distance.
    
    Cloud sighed resignedly. "All right," he conceded, beginning to descend. "I'll hold them off."
    
    "Right," she agreed. "Don't let them through!" And as Cloud leapt into the fray once more, Reno's voice called out more worriedly than before.
    
    "The Ancient is getting away!" he cried. "Attack!" he ordered, pointing to Cloud. "Attack!" 
    
    As a hail of gunfire blasted through the walls of the church towards the warrior, the platform that Aeris was perched upon began to buckle and break. In one swift motion, the whole of the rafters Cloud and Aeris had been fighting atop shattered, sending the whole of the structure plummeting down to the floor of the halls.
    
    Reno stopped, signaling for his troops to stop as he saw the falling and scattered debris and watched as it began to pile down. As he examined the mortal fall, he commented, "Think we killed 'em?" as he stepped back from the wreckage. He snorted. "They shouldn't have put up a fight, I say!" With a snap of his fingers, he ordered his remaining soldiers to search the wreckage.
    
    Cloud watched unseen from the highest tier of the church, examining the carnage and cursing himself for being so slow. He had had a chance to grab her as the supports buckled, a chance to help her up to this new height, but he had failed, let her fall. His only saving grace to his perturbed state was the fact that she was outfitted with his Iron Bangle, and was almost sure to have survived the fall. Still, with the Shinra racing through the debris at the clip they were going, it was only a matter of time before…
    
    "Eaygh!" 
    
    Cloud cursed as Aeris' cry signaled his fears as a lone soldier apprehended her roughly and threw her down. Her ear splitting scream resounded through the building as she cowered, weakened severely from the fall. "Cloud, help!" she cried.
    
    "Damn!" Cloud whispered, powerless at his height to help her. Stubbornly, however, he looked about frantically for anything that could aid her. Irregardless, he was nearly about to concede defeat when his eye caught something that happily refuted his belief in his powerlessness.
    
    "Hold on a minute, Aeris," he whispered as he bounded to the object that he had sighted before.
    
    Aeris was standing shakily before the soldier, shaken from the fall and readying her staff to defend herself. The MP merely guffawed derisively louder and louder as he approached, looking more vile and despicable than some of the worst criminals the girl had ever seen prowling the slums.
    
    Then, almost as in a dream, the obscene laughter was cut out as a large barrel tumbled from out of the air and smashed right into him, crushing his body horribly and killing him instantly. Aeris immediately looked to the sky with a response of shock and relief. With a stunned realization, she looked up to the rafters and with no small measure of gratitude shouted, "Thanks, Cloud."
    
    The Ex-SOLDIER nodded in response from the storehouse he had reached atop the church that nearly met its roof. He began to send down a hail of items, old chain mail and rocky idols to cut off the Shinra, thwarting Reno and his men at their every maneuver. As Aeris dashed for the stairs, he spotted another soldier nearly on top of her, and moved to intercept as best he could.
    
    Aeris neatly sidestepped the soldier blocking access to the stairwell as a barrel smashed precisely into his skull, nearly twisting it off its body, whispering thanks to her newly christened 'Guardian Angel' again as she began to ascend the stairs amidst the veritable rain of attacks the warrior was delivering. As she reached the top of the last flight of stairs, she realized the next flight had been utterly destroyed and that she was trapped.
    
    The soldiers below her sensed her plight, and began to climb the stairs after her _en masse_. They seemed to stalk upwards in unison, each step of the troop signaling their evil intentions. Yet as soon as they had begun they seemed to end as a final barrel plummeted to the narrowest stairwell above the crowded soldiers, sending them into a hysterical frenzy as the barrel bowled them over, all but destroying the last of the pursuing Shinra. 
    
    Almost as in symbolism of this fact, a long rope dropped to Aeris from above, which she promptly grabbed a hold of. With a little bit of a rush, she was hoisted steadily to Cloud's level, where she immediately leaped off and embraced her newly made bodyguard.
    
    Shocked by the freeness of touch, Cloud instinctively eased her off, and stated quickly, "Aeris, this way." And with him leading her by the hand, the two eased themselves through the hole he had created not long ago, and followed it through to freedom.
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    The sun kissed the faces of the two victorious fugitives as they emerged, actually visible due to the fact that the slums the church had been built in laid on the outskirts of the city of Midgar, where the plate was the least thick and obscuring. As both the Ex-SOLDIER and the flower girl rested on the shingles of the roof taking in the sun, the latter began to chuckle.
    
    "Ha, ha…," Aeris dismally laughed. Without turning her head from the sky, she whispered, "They're after me again."
    
    Cloud whirled around to her immediately with shock plastered on his face. "You mean it's not the first time they've been after you?" he nearly shouted in astonishment. 
    
    Aeris nodded, and slowly turned to him, confirming slowly in an even softer whisper, "No."
    
    Cloud shook his head, thinking back to the well trained Shinra soldiers, and the man in blue that had led them—Reno had been his name, he knew who…
    
    "They're the Turks," Cloud said solemnly, shaking his head.
    
    "Hmmm…," was the only response Aeris gave, the girl now seemingly resolved to shy away from contact with her inquisitor. 
    
    Cloud read her looks, however, as ones of bewilderment and helplessness, as though she was an innocent that did not know her assailants. He started to explain. "The Turks are an organization in Shinra," he stated, prompting Aeris to at least give him her visible attention from the sky. "They scout for possible candidates for SOLDIER." 
    
    Aeris' facial expression visibly changed, as confusion marred with a kind of hope etched itself out upon her features. "This violently?" she gasped breathlessly. "I thought they were kidnapping someone." Her reluctance to just name herself rather than stray from the hypothetical only unnerved Cloud even more. 
    
    Regardless, the warrior, wanting to comfort the girl's confusion in some way, continued, stirring from his sitting position as he did so. "They're also involved in a lot of dirty stuff on the side," he expounded. "Spying, murder…you know."
    
    Aeris nodded as if in a daze. "They look like it," she commented heavily.
    
    Cloud turned back to her and stared purposefully in response to the comment, his eyes seeming to pierce into her. "But, why're they after you?" he asked. "There must be a reason, right?" The way he accentuated the words 'must' and 'reason' were not lost on the flower girl, who immediately countered with a glib remark.
    
    "No, not really," she shot back quickly, cutting him off. She began to stand up, with a demeanor that reminded her new bodyguard more of pride than anything else. "I think they believe I have what it takes to be in SOLDIER!"
    
    Cloud took the statement as a type of joke to his senses as the frail girl before him asserted that she could become a member of Shinra's most elite fighting force. _Still_, he thought, _if someone like…_
    
    "Maybe you do," he replied good-naturedly. As unthreateningly and jovially as he could, he asked, "You want to join?"
    
    "I don't know…," Aeris replied mechanically, throwing the warrior aback once more with her change in tone. "But I don't want to get caught by THOSE people!" she burst out frantically, slipping on the shingles of the roof due to the emotion contained in the statement.
    
    Cloud nodded more emphatically than he ever had in her presence. "Then let's go!" he commanded, leaping to an adjacent roof, and then turning to ease her down off of the roof of the chapel onto it before jumping to the next scaffold and forging a path through the rooftops of the slums.
    
    However, he had hardly begun when he heard the gasps and pants of the woman he had left. A barely audible, "Wait…," emerged from the deserted Aeris as she staggered in her attempts to keep up. Cloud slowed from his pace and stopped cold on a perch of a small rooftop, letting her catch up.
    
    "Wait, I said!" the flower girl gasped as she finally approached Cloud, exhausted from maintaining the same acceleration that he had done. As her breaths became more ragged, she struggled to compose herself. Turning to the warrior, she barely sputtered, "Slow…down…," clutching her sides from pain. Her sparkling eyes met his and locked with them as she recovered. "Don't leave me," she pleaded.
    
    As this whole event was digested by Cloud, he stood silent, half in awe as well as half in thought. Finally, a new thought crossed his mind, and he turned back to Aeris quizzically. "Funny…," he commented. "I thought you were cut out to be in SOLDIER?"
    
    Aeris immediately responded with a pained and shocked expression to the lack of care Cloud was showing to her suffering. "Oh!" she exclaimed in dismay. "You're terrible!"
    
    Despite her dismay, their eyes both never left each others', each one mesmerized by the other's. "Hey, Cloud…," Aeris began, breaking the silence without breaking their stares. "Were you…ever in SOLDIER?"
    
    The question and its aptness provided the appropriate prod for Cloud to break their stares, leaving her staring as he looked away, contemplating his answer. Finally, after an uncomfortable silence, he looked back and answered, "I used to be." His gaze met hers again, as if he were trying to delve into some unknown cache of knowledge. "How did you guess?"
    
    "Your eyes," she said as the gaze upon his glowing eyes met her softly sparkling ones once again. "They have a strange glow…," she commented absorbedly, leaving Cloud to wonder if she was responding to his comment or was only observing with unbridled interest. 
    
    "That's the sign of those who have been infused with Mako…," he said wistfully, letting the glow in his eyes begin to consume along with the power coursing through his body, appearing as if they had been set aflame. "A mark of SOLDIER," he finished, letting his body go from the tension he held in it and returning his eyes to the light glow that they were usually held at. As his body returned, however, so did the questions that laid inside him, and he stared deeply at her and said, "But, how did you know that?"
    
    "Oh, nothing," the flower girl replied as offhandedly as she could, turning away, moving uncomfortably, doing everything she seemed to be able to do to change the subject.
    
    "Nothing…?" Cloud questioned nonetheless, the confusion in his voice apparent as he moved to question her again.
    
    "Right, nothing!" Aeris blurted out in return, cutting the warrior off before he could question again. She hopped up, in an obvious show of rejuvenation, and grabbed his arm, pointing off into the distance of the slums. "Come on, let's go!" she urged, tugging his small sleeve as much as it would allow. With a grin, she finished, "Bodyguard!" and started, prompting Cloud to follow right behind.
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    Cloud vaunted over the last pile of refuse with a flourish as he landed solidly on to the ground beneath him. As he quickly took in the feeling of landing on new ground once again, Aeris caught up to him in a series of much less acrobatic leaps, stepping cautiously at last beside him while he kneeled. 
    
    "Whew!" she exclaimed, looking around at the dimly lit slums and the junkpile from which they had both emerged. Nodding, she proclaimed, "Finally made it off!", eliciting a cheerful look from her warrior companion. With no more restraint she started north ahead of him and pointed out, "My house is over here." Her expression changed as he began to gesture to him more fervently. "Hurry before he comes," she insisted.
    
    Immediately understanding who 'he' was, Cloud arose and led the way north through the winding path created merely by the absence of refuse. As he led her on, he noticed the growing hostility and destruction of the slums. The progressiveness of the horrid state brought his mind back to the lingering question in the back of his mind: how on earth did such a seemingly frail girl survive in a place like this?
    
    "Aeris…" 
    
    It took Cloud a second to realize that the voice that called the flower girl's name was not his own. He whipped about, and, to his great surprise, spied a husky, heavily overbuilt man outfitted in nothing more than a tank top, shorts, and a green bandanna. His pale skin, created from long years engulfed in darkness, gave him a sort of gangly, freakish appearance despite his stout stature. Cloud prepared to shield Aeris when, again to his amazement, she stepped forward to face the man.
    
    "Aeris, my sweet," the man rasped nasally in a hoarse, scratchy tone, "who's your friend? Don't tell me you've taken off with someone else and left me in the cold!" The manner of the man sickened Cloud, as he steeled himself, watching the strange sight with a repulsed curiosity. 
    
    The man continued, "Now Aeris, let's just not mess around like we always do and just let me take you home."
    
    Aeris spoke up for the first time. "Exactly what do you mean by home, Hunt?" she demanded in return.
    
    "Come now, Aeris, we're closer than that. Call me Brandon," the man replied derisively, pacing a half-circle around her that certainly would have formed a full circle had Cloud not been standing behind her with a menacing glare in his eyes. "And as for home," he continued, "what better place to call home than mine, where all your wants and needs will be completely satisfied." 
    
    "Forget it, Hunt," she stated finitely. "I'm not coming. Not now, not ever."
    
    "Come now, dear, don't be unreasonable," he insisted with a smirk. "I'd hate to have to have me and my gang make you see things our way."
    
    The only response to this was an outright laugh from the flower girl, which startled Cloud far more than it did the grimacing Hunt. "Your entire posse couldn't handle me last time—and if I remember correctly, I broke three of your ribs," she boasted, swinging her staff menacingly and receiving a much intimidated response, to Cloud's surprise. "And now I've got a bodyguard with me, as well."
    
    The intimidated stare from Hunt transformed into a sneer on her last proclamation. "Yeah," he rasped. "We noticed."
    
    Suddenly, a large force ripped against Cloud's backside. Cloud shouted in shock as he felt the straps on his bandolier tear and sensed his sword being ripped off his back by a strange looking, night dark midget who steadily lifted it and laughed with pleasure before dragging the weapon into the darkness. Cloud turned back to Hunt in shock.
    
    "Well, I think that threat's been taken care of," Hunt quipped dryly to the two standing before him. Without any further delay, he snapped his fingers in a double clicking motion, heralding an emergence of green bandanna clad men to arise from the wreckage surrounding Cloud and Aeris.
    
    "Why didn't you tell me you were mixed up with a thief gang?" he whispered a demand to Aeris as he put his back to hers and took a fighting stance.
    
    "Don't worry," she assured quietly, raising her staff. "His 'gang' is only about five or six people at any given time. I took them all the last time they messed with me."
    
    Her assurances, however, slowly turned out to be erroneous as person after person continued to emerge from the wreckage, each one possessing a glint of malice in his eyes. The numbers continued to mount, until, finally, a force of forty strong surrounded the bewildered Aeris and Cloud. 
    
    Hunt, noticing the shocked expression on Aeris' face called out with an obnoxious shrill, "How do you like my new gang, Aeris?" He leapt up to a tier of the wreckage directly above his two targets, a feat considering his size, and explained, "The boys at Shinra heard about our lovers' predicament and decided to loan me a few men—as long as I handed you over once our 'consummation' was complete."
    
    Cloud felt his blood begin to boil at the derisive statement of Hunt's, hardly containing himself as the gang leader leered over him and Aeris both. 
    
    "Well?" Hunt snarled, his patronizing demeanor now overpowered by his impatience, "What's your answer?"
    
    "Don't answer him," Cloud whispered to Aeris quickly as he took a fighting stance to her back, prompting her to do the same. "Remember," he advised, "you still have the Restore materia. Make good use of it." 
    
    Cloud's eyes began to dart to and fro, searching for his stolen weapon even as the gang began to surround and envelope Aeris and himself. _A glint of metal, a trail of leather_, he begged for inwardly. As the gang began to close in…
    
    He saw a flash.
    
    With no delay, the warrior Cloud Strife erupted at his closest opponent, smashing him across his face with the force of a trained martial artist, splitting open his skull in a gush of sanguine fluid. Letting the body collapse in a bloody mess to the floor he turned his attention to three other gang members, all brandishing knives and daggers in each fist. As the first swung out wildly, Cloud sidestepped and seized his arm, twisting so hard that the sinew ripped and the arm dislocated with a sickening pop of shoulder being yanked out of socket. 
    
    With amazing dexterity, Cloud, still holding the arm of the man, easily twirled it to the back of the thief and shoved the dagger the thief still held into the back of his skull, holding it there for a second before wrenching it out and heralding a tsunami of blood from the mortal wound. 
    
    The two others, slightly taken aback by the ruthless destruction of their two comrades, now simultaneously attacked the now-armed Ex-SOLDIER. Both charged weapons first at the warrior, closing distance until their would-be pierces evaporated into thin air as Cloud easily flipped over them both to their backsides. As the two bewildered thieves instinctively turned about, they were immediately met with a slash to each of their throats by Cloud's two daggers. 
    
    Cloud was now sufficiently armed: in fact, with six blades, he was sufficiently over-armed. The Ex-SOLDIER immediately remedied this 'problem' by flinging blades at the thugs that were advancing on him, striking with scary precision as four daggers in turn pierced four of the thugs' necks. The remaining member was quickly dispatched by a flying kick to the face, followed by a double slash to his neck. 
    
    In his zeal for dispatching the previous thugs, however, Cloud had neglected to cover his rear. The oversight became painfully evident when a thief that had snuck up on his backside plunged both of his daggers into his backside, being deflected from his vital organs only through the last minute effect of the Bronze Bangle that Cloud still possessed. The thief then leapt upon his back in an attempt to strangle the injured fighter.
    
    Cloud, racked by the pain, could hardly focus as he felt his air valves being cut off. Gathering all of his remaining strength in response, he grabbed the arms of the suffocater roughly and flung him forward off of his back. As the thug flailed about in the air, Cloud grabbed one of his knives and threw it with blinding speed and accuracy as it nailed its target through its head. He weakly reached to his backside immediately and in a last usage of strength tore the two daggers from his backside. 
    
    "Cure!"
    
    The sudden spell filled Cloud with a pleasant surprise as he felt green bands of magic weave their way into his body and close his wounds. He immediately whirled about to look for Aeris, spotting his benefactor at the other side of the junkpile wearing a relieved smile from the success of the healing spell. Marveling at the proficiency of the spell for someone so inexperienced with materia, he leapt with renewed vigor and ferocity at his next victim. 
    
    Meanwhile Aeris, who had just finished incapacitating a third thug, was beginning to feel fatigued from the battling. The problem compounded itself further when four of Hunt's personal henchmen emerged from concealment in the wreckage and surrounded her position.
    
    "C'mon, Miss Aeris," one of the thugs crooned hideously. "You know we don't want to kill you—it'd be bad for the boss."
    
    "Back off!" she shouted in response, jabbing defensively at the lackey. 
    
    "Aw, c'mon," another one pleaded, mimicking the same tone of the former, "after Hunt's finished with you, we're going to get to 'consummate' you as well!" 
    
    The disgusting remark spurred her to jab out viciously once more, only to be thwarted when the man, anticipating the attack, seized her staff and wrested it away from her, leaving her completely defenseless. He raised the weapon in exultation as he and his compatriots began to close in on her. 
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    Cloud's fatigue was beginning to wear him down. Despite a quite potent Cure spell and a much needed Potion used afterwards, no amount of artificial sustenance was going to keep him fighting forever. He had long since stopped counting the bodies that had been stabbed, slashed, and decapitated by his hand, only now trying desperately more than ever to find his sword. He had killed a path into the area from which he had sighted it just a little time beforehand. Temporarily relieved of combat, he closely examined the area for any sign of the weapon. 
    
    _That little gremlin thing that stole it_, Cloud pondered. _It couldn't have hefted my weapon for any substantial distance: it was too little. If it got anywhere with it, it must have dragged it, which means that there should be…_
    
    And then Cloud spotted what he was looking for. A large imprint was etched into the dirt, evident that his sword had been dragged on the ground. He began to follow the path that the imprint carved intently, tracing it over and under the piles of refuse until after a short while he encountered the strange thief in a pitiful state. Gasping and retching under the weight of the sword, it continued in vain to try to drag the sword away from the incoming mercenary.
    
    "You're not gettin' it that easy, pally."
    
    The curt words of interruption were succeeded by the intervention of five obviously high-profile thugs, apparently assigned to make sure that Cloud never laid hands on his weapon again. Their status was defined in their weapons: two carried spiked clubs, another two carried smooth, elongated dirks, while the last of them wielded a gilded broadsword that glinted even amongst the dim light. 
    
    Cloud reacted immediately: he let loose with his spare dagger at the little thief still trying to drag his weapon away. The blade pierced his leg, pinning him to the ground and making sure that he did not escape. The five thugs attacked Cloud at the same moment, though three did not move to ensure he did not have a path to his weapon. One man with a club and another with a dirk attacked from either side of Cloud, their swings only deflected barely by a glance of each of the warrior's daggers. The man with the club swung again, only to be thwarted as Cloud nimbly moved aside and with superhuman agility sidestepped to his back and seized him. 
    
    As the man with the dirk slashed at the Ex-SOLDIER and his newly acquired hostage, Cloud took the club of the man he gripped to bear and intercepted the dirk, lodging it in the weapon. Tossing away the man and wrenching away the blade at the same time, he stepped forward and drove his dagger under the ribs and into the heart of the now-disarmed thug before spinning around and doing the same to the dazed former club-wielder. 
    
    The three remaining thieves, suddenly aware that their two associates had been dispatched by the mercenary, abandoned their posts and prepared to attack with a methodical determination.
    
    Cloud had just enough time to pry the dirk from the club and arm himself with both before the trio was practically upon him. Cloud transformed himself into the aggressor at last, swinging both weapons in an arc and driving the three back. He then zeroed in on the remaining club-wielder, feinting his own club downwards to prompt his enemy to attempt to deflect before gutting him while his defense was down with his newly acquired dirk. 
    
    He barely had time to twist the dirk out when another dirk slashed out dangerously, cutting him across the arm as he retreated. Injured and enraged, Cloud unholstered his two remaining daggers and flung them at his attacker, hitting him with them both square in the chest. In a final maneuver, the mercenary flung himself as well at the thug, bashing him across the face with the spiked club, beating him into a veritable bloody pulp. 
    
    Only the man holding the broadsword remained. Gauging the distance from his position to his own defining weapon, Cloud boldly threw both his club and his dirk at the remaining enemy, sending him diving out of the way of the two objects. Using the opening, Cloud immediately dashed for the small man he had pinned down and the weapon he still possessed. 
    
    In a matter of seconds he was directly upon him. Seizing the midget, he started to pry the sword from his waning grasp. He had barely started, however, when a piercing scream cut him short. This preclusion was followed by the broadswordsman leaping upon them and butchering the midget, sending the sword and Cloud flying. 
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    Aeris unconsciously flinched as the men surrounding her inched closer to her. With cold eyes and flailing, zombie-like arms vying to snatch her, their degradation matched their appearance and intentions perfectly. She raced her mind frantically, trying to find some advantage, some way to get out of the bind that she was trapped in. All she had now was the armor that Cloud had given her, useless as the vicious thugs had no intention of killing her, only in capturing her alive. She still possessed her Cure materia, but it served the same purpose as the armor, making it just as worthless.
    
    _Or does it? _Aeris thought as an epiphany hit her at the same moment where it seemed like all was lost. A sweet grin enveloped her face as she focused the remainder of her magical abilities into the spell she was about to cast.
    
    "Cure!"
    
    The spell hit the thug that had stolen her staff like a tidal wave of refreshing feeling. But more importantly, as the spell healed him it lowered his guard, exactly Aeris' intention. In seconds she was upon him, taking her staff with renewed force and dispatching the dazed man. She turned on the other men in frenzy, attacking as she never had before, breaking bones and crushing skulls until every single enemy was properly incapacitated. 
    
    As the last man fell under the blows of her weapon, she stood high and proud, dusting herself off in a satisfied maneuver.
    
    "Drop it, Aeris."
    
    The cold command came just as an unseen assailant crept up from behind Aeris and seized her, holding a pistol to her neck. Hunt slowly cocked the firearm as he pressed it to her temple, inciting her to drop her staff as he had previously commanded. 
    
    "Now, my love, we're going to just walk right out of here, and pretend this silly incident never happened," Hunt rasped menacingly, "or I may just have to break off my promise to the Shinra to hand you over to them _alive_."
    
    Cloud stirred in agony as he came to. He came to his senses just only as his attacker dove towards him in a fury, and only barely rolled out of the way as the broadsword came down and nearly cleaved his neck. 
    
    The missed attack worked against his enemy, however, as the sword lodged itself in the junkpile Cloud had been situated upon. Smirking, Cloud scanned for his weapon, spotting it atop a small hill of wreckage. Bounding to his sword, Cloud's elation turned to dismay as he realized that it was plunged into the metal almost to the hilt. 
    
    Grasping the handle nevertheless, he began to tug at the weapon, edging it out at a slow but constant pace.
    
    The pace was not fast enough, however, as the man that Cloud had left in his same predicament ripped his broadsword out of the junkpile, and began to stalk towards him.
    
    Cloud continued to inch the sword out of the wreckage more rapidly, but his depleted strength only worked against him and the rate at which he was prying the sword actually slowed while his enemy advanced at an ever accelerating velocity. Cloud knew that he had to do something, but continued to draw blanks for ideas.
    
    Then, as the assailant was practically upon him, Cloud realized what he had to do.
    
    Grasping his sword even tighter and feeling power within him surge, he shouted, "Bolt!" creating a thunderous sound as a lightning bolt struck the broadswordsman with awesome power, leaving him barely alive.
    
    Cloud observed that the man was still alive as well, and was shockingly still standing and able to hold his sword. Realizing he was still a very potent threat, Cloud looked to his sword and knew it would take too long to pull out.
    
    However, he _did _still have the dagger that he had plucked from the deceased midget, the one he had used to pin him down what had seemed like ages ago.
    
    In a finely honed visceral outburst, Cloud unsheathed the dagger from his side and raced towards the electrified man, taking the blade and thrusting it through the neck, pushing with all his might until the broadswordsman was fully decapitated, leaving Cloud alone amidst the throes of blood. 
    
    After a good half a minute or so, the warrior known as Cloud Strife reclaimed his sword from atop the cage of jagged metal, and set out to conquer the rest of his foes.
    
    As Cloud climbed out of the pit that had imprisoned him, he surveyed the swarms of thugs all about, some just focusing on him, others concerned with…
    
    _Her._
    
    Cloud seethed within as he spotted Aeris, now held hostage at gunpoint by the vile Hunt, who thankfully hadn't spotted the Ex-SOLDIER yet. Focusing all his energy and rage into one spell, and concentrating on every single thug and wretch poised against him, he gave out an immeasurable cry.
    
    "BOLT-ALL!"
    
    Thunderbolts of extreme energy and power struck down in a wave, instantly killing all of the inferior enemies that littered the field. Hunt was struck hard too, so hard that he released Aeris (saving her from being shocked through the gun's conduction) and survived only through the virtue that he himself was wearing a considerable amount of armor.
    
    The virtue did not serve him well for long. Cloud discarded his sword and made a beeline for the remaining leader of the thieves' gang. Hunt raised his gun, his final mistake, as Cloud was literally upon him in seconds. The warrior grabbed the gun and twisted it behind his back, breaking Hunt's arm in the process. As Brandon Hunt bent over backwards from the pain, Cloud Strife rammed his pistol up against his skull, and squeezed his wrist, causing Hunt to automatically pull the trigger.
    
    No amount of armor could have saved Hunt then. The gun went off at point-blank range, plowing through Hunt's head and causing a geyser of blood to spurt from out of his face before raining back down on the victorious Cloud.
    
    Ripping away the pistol from the corpse and stashing it in the folds of his outfit, Cloud staggered over to his sword, raised it to the air, and twirled it powerfully in a finishing victory stance.
    
    Then he collapsed in exhaustion.
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    Memories. 
    
    Cloud Strife upon awakening felt no other sensation than what were unmistakably his memories. Flashes of disjointed images and feelings flooded his consciousness and seemed to consume him as he sensed his past wash over him in a flood of bittersweet tears. He experienced feeling over events, putting the desires of the heart over those of the mind as the memories came again and again.
    
    Cleansing.
    
    Soothing.
    
    _Healing…_
    
    Cloud jolted back to reality in a shock as he realized that the sensations that he was experiencing were not strictly confined to those of nostalgia. Lifting himself to his feet in a surprisingly easy endeavor, he looked upon himself in awe as he felt the dozens of wounds inflicted on his body begin to close and his strength regain. 
    
    The most surprising part of the whole experience, however, was the exact manner in which his body healed. Rather than enduring the familiar welcome ache of the Cure spell or Potion, which removed wounds by painfully forcing body parts into proper order as well as leaving a nasty and often hideous scar, the sensations were those of a natural healing—the multiple cuts and lesions upon his body were being eased out of existence, slowly and painlessly disappearing until at last Cloud's wounds had completely disappeared, leaving no trace of a scar.
    
    It was if they had been returned to the state before the battle had ever ensued.
    
    As Cloud became cognizant of that mesmerizing fact, his thoughts darted back to the waves of memory that had just consumed him moments before. The curative feelings of the nostalgia and the return of his wounds to the state before the battle had too much in common for him to ignore—could they have some sort of connection?
    
    Cloud's thoughts dissipated once more as he was overwhelmed again by the acceleration of the healing. Startlingly, it was so potent that old scars that Cloud had sustained were beginning to revert to untouched state, molding the warrior's skin into a type of flawless perfection. So awestruck was Cloud, that he instinctively reached down to his chest and pressed against it, only to remove his hand disappointedly as an all too familiar ache resurfaced.
    
    _Some wounds never heal…_
    
    And suddenly, at the moment the dull throb melded with his pleasure, the healing stopped. More accurately, it rushed out of his body, filling every square inch of it with wistful feeling before taking off as abruptly as it had come.
    
    Before he knew it was even there, it was gone like the wind.
    
    As Cloud's euphoria began to fade and his senses became reaware of the situation, Cloud's eyes readjusted to battle readiness, only to be stunned once again as he spied Aeris not too far away from him. With her eyes closed and her slender hands clasped, she looked nothing more than locked in prayer. Cloud also noticed that the minor cuts and abrasions that she had suffered from her skirmish had been obliterated just as his had, causing the mercenary to undergo a sudden shock as he realized where the 'Healing Wind' had originated from.
    
    _No wonder she looks so deceptively frail and untainted_, Cloud realized with a start.
    
    "Aeris," Cloud started, breaking her out of her silent statuesque form and causing her to take a half-upset, half-relieved expression at the advancing fighter.
    
    _Relieved because I'm okay_, Cloud thought, _upset because now I know why…_
    
    "You did that, didn't you?" Cloud asserted immediately, prompting the flower girl before him to turn her gaze down away from him, confirming his suspicions. He kept advancing while she looked to the dirt below, until he was a few feet away from her, before continuing.
    
    "How?" The absolute simplicity and brevity of the question was reason enough for her to look back to him and face the glow that his eyes exuded once more. Comforted as she believed one could be, she decided to tell the truth.
    
    "I don't know," she answered.
    
    Continuing before Cloud could speak, she explained, "It comes whenever I need it—something from long ago." She looked back to Cloud anxiously. "Although I've never tried to use it with somebody else before," she commented while staring meaningfully into his eyes. Aeris examined Cloud nervously, simultaneously searching for evidence of her handiwork as well as try to suppress some of the sickening feeling she was experiencing: Cloud was, before all things, still literally drenched in human blood and the sight of it made her queasier as time went on.
    
    Cloud had noticed this, understanding that she was probably more confused and definitely more afraid than he was. He sighed and sat down amongst the rubble surrounding him before he began his half-baked concerns with being her new bodyguard.
    
    "Aeris," Cloud began, "I have some real reservations about all of this." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "You have the Turks after you and the Shinra gave that Hunt guy about forty men to capture you, as well as a _gun_." The way Cloud emphasized the word only made the fact more painfully obvious: Shinra in its creation of a totalitarian state had above all things kept guns out of the hands of civilians. Despite Midgar's rampant crime and propensity for murder, the only homicides performed by firearm were performed by the local mafias, which answered directly to Shinra. To have a gun functioned as a status symbol of connections to Shinra: to have one meant that one was a made man.
    
    "And to top it all off, you have abilities that would function as military-grade cure spells, and without the repercussions that go along with them," Cloud finished, leaving Aeris speechless at the barrage of accusations that she had no way to refute. 
    
    Cloud left her in her silence to walk over to Hunt's fresh corpse, spying the two armors that he wore on each wrist. Tearing the two superior bangles from the body, he tossed one to the obviously pained flower girl. "Here," he cried as the armor left his hand. "Titan Bangles—very strong armor," he said, snapping the armor on the arm opposite his Bronze Bangle as Aeris did the same on the arm opposite her Iron Bangle. She looked over to him confusedly. "But," she started, "what you said…"
    
    "I know," Cloud replied. "But I'm still coming with you," Cloud said, leaving the flower girl before him speechless, this time from happiness rather than shame. He stood up in the dim light, letting the blood trickling down his skin cake into a shell, slightly reducing his ragged appearance. "I'm still going to take you home," Cloud finished.
    
    This last statement wore off Aeris' speechlessness, and she stood taller than she had all day, twirling her staff before dusting herself off and flashing a bright smile at Cloud. "Thanks, Cloud," she said graciously before pointing in the direction they both had been heading in what now seemed like ages ago. "My house is that way," she repeated. 
    
    They started on their way again.
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    Cloud and Aeris were greeted by the depressed urban centre of Sector 5 after less than a half hour of walking. The sight was impressive in one aspect and one aspect alone: the stagnation of it all. The commerce was lackadaisical at best, with each person stuck in a veritable rut. The only change that ever came to the forsaken place was the occasional killing, and only the newcomers were only the least fazed by that.
    
    "Cloud," Aeris called to him from down a road, already having trekked into the unmoving silt of a metropolis. "Come over here," she beckoned.
    
    As Cloud made his way over to her, he began to make out her facial features. She seemed more serious than usual, but also seemed to contain a measure of hope. The reasons for such expression became evident as he realized that she was staring into a large pipe; as he approached, she motioned for him to do the same.
    
    "This guy are sick," Aeris said. 
    
    Cloud turned to her with no small measure of confusion at the last disjointed sentence that Aeris spoke. The flower girl giggled in response.
    
    "We refer to all the people who end up like this in the plural," she explained, "because they're all so alike. That's the kind of place this is." Cloud nodded in response as he and Aeris both stepped into the pipe. 
    
    Cloud gasped and fell backwards as he entered the pipe and saw what lay there: of all things, his own body, from spiky hair to dimming eyes, was sprawled out in the cylindrical corridor.
    
    "Cloud! Are you okay?" 
    
    Aeris helped the fallen Ex-SOLDIER back to his feet, forcing him to look at the body before him once again. With shock Cloud realized that the person inside the pipe looked nothing at all like him. The infirm was dressed in baggy, ripped jeans and a tank top, with only an orange bandanna wrapped around an obviously injured head. The only distinguishing feature the man had was a black tattoo of the number two upon his right arm. He moaned and tossed, seemingly possessed of an unnatural force, and groaned unintelligibly all the while.
    
    "Can you help him?" Aeris questioned hopefully. 
    
    Cloud turned to her in response, not knowing whether to be gracious or insulted that Aeris believed that he could somehow help the man. However, he knew that he would probably do more harm than good with somebody that messed up.
    
    "Listen, I'm no doctor," he started.
    
    "No, I guess not," Aeris finished for him, before walking dejectedly out of the pipe. Cloud followed closely, thoroughly perplexed once more at Aeris' behavior. The whole incident had completely unnerved him.
    
    "Cloud, this way!" were the first words that greeted Cloud when he emerged. Aeris trotted over to a large overpass with the warrior in tow. Leading him through a twisted series of winding trails and forks, she constantly reassured him, saying that they would be at their house in any minute. 
    
    And then suddenly, they were.
    
    *** * * * ***  
    
    The same bright light that had touched down upon Cloud's face when he first awoke in the church was the first thing that Cloud was reminded of as he emerged from the wreckage into the most exquisite of places. Rays of sun cast a bright sparkle about the whole setting, unobscured by the machinations of the Plate and free to enrich a lush flower garden beneath it. Cloud in a flash understood that this place had been built under the so-called 'ring' of Midgar's Plate: the open circle that served the purpose of bracing the tiered sections of the Plate, meaning that there were only sparse connecting rods and rafters to block the sun that was so barren from Midgar land. Shinra, predictably, had taken many measures to make sure that this would-be hallowed section of land should never be discovered, and deliberately delivered all of their trash and junk to the ring territory and the surrounding area. To have found such an untouched space was nothing short of a miracle, to say the least.
    
    _But a miracle sure does have its perks_, Cloud thought as he gasped inwardly at the house that Aeris called home. To have a house in Midgar was a rarity, and to have one under the Plate was usually written off as a fluke (and was rectified by the jealous homeless soon enough). But the house before him was a very nice and cozy house. Completely made of wood, it had aged well and stood very prominently in the sun that bathed it. More than anything else, the building appeared as though it was out of place, a country house erected in a war zone.
    
    _Just like the girl who lives there_, observed Cloud silently.
    
    "This flower bed," Cloud addressed Aeris, surveying the serenity of the scene with a bit of unease.
    
    "Yeah," she replied to his unspoken inquiry. "This is where I grow flowers for selling on the Plate." She sighed and looked wistfully around the scenery. "I wish I could spend more time here too, though…" Without another word, she just as mysteriously started towards the little front door to the house. 
    
    Cloud, however, had spotted something of interest in the meantime. The disenfranchised mercenary had since been wandering about the flower bed and the sublime glory that it embodied, when a trickle at the center of the bed had caught his attention. Stalking towards the center, he was pleasantly surprised to have his questions about the flower bed answered and a bonus to go with it. Turning about, he contentedly followed Aeris into the house before him.
    
    "I'm home, Mom."
    
    The middle-aged woman methodically scrubbing dishes immediately dropped what she was doing as Aeris bounded through the door and greeted her. Slowly turning around, she smiled an endearing and comforting smile to the young woman. The smile began to fade, however, when she sighted the blood-soaked visage of Cloud Strife enter through her door behind Aeris.
    
    Before she had a chance to react noticeably, however, Aeris continued cheerfully, "This is Cloud. My bodyguard."
    
    The older woman's facial expression changed considerably as she greeted the person whom Aeris had adopted as a friend. "Why, hello," she welcomed. "I'm Elmyra, Aeris' mother." Then her expression fell once more as the sentence Aeris had spoken beforehand began to sink in. "Bodyguard......? You mean you were followed again!?" she exclaimed. "Are you all right!?" she questioned. "You're not hurt, are you!?"
    
    "I'm all right," Aeris responded in what her new bodyguard could see was clearly a show of forced nonchalance. "I had Cloud with me." 
    
    Elmyra examined the man that her daughter had brought in once again, seeing through the ravaged skin and the smell of blood into his glowing eyes. "Thank you, Cloud," she said tentatively at last, then continued, "Feel free to use our bath and clean yourself off," right before heading into another room.
    
    Unfazed or unaware of the incident that had just occurred, Aeris turned back to Cloud and inquired, "So what are you going to do now?"
    
    Ignoring the obvious insinuations that the sentence posed, Cloud opted to pose a question of his own. "Is Sector 7 far from here?" he asked. "I want to go to Tifa's bar."
    
    Intrigued by the casual manner in which the mercenary had spoken, Aeris abruptly changed the subject. "Is Tifa…a girl?" she inquired with an ever so subtle edge.
    
    "Yeah," came the dry response.
    
    Aeris decided to press harder. "A girl…friend?"
    
    Cloud immediately and vividly felt a pang at the question. Trying his best to give a noncaring attitude towards the whole thing, he roughly shook his head no, eliciting the type of response he did not want to bring out—laughter. 
    
    "You don't have to get THAT upset," the flower girl (half) joked. "Let's see, Sector 7?" she mused aloud, bringing the topic of conversation back into focus. "I'll show you the way."
    
    This time, however, Cloud was prepared with a comeback to her audacity. "You gotta be kidding," he asserted. "Why do you want to put yourself in danger again?"
    
    The flower girl was ready with a glib comeback of her own. "I'm used to it," she retorted finitely, with the resolution of one that is used to conversations based about restraint.
    
    "Used to it!?" Cloud exclaimed. He sighed, off guard once more as he contemplated the situation. "Well, I don't know…" he muttered. "Getting help from a girl…"
    
    Unfortunately for Cloud, the woman in front of him had caught his chauvinistic remark. "A girl!!" she shouted in indignation. "What do you mean by that!?" She grabbed her staff and waved it within mere millimeters of his face. "You expect me to just sit by quietly after hearing you say something like that!?"
    
    At the last remark Cloud hung his shoulders in defeat. He thought himself capable of arguing a young woman to her senses, but his indiscretion had given her an excuse to fight for all womankind on the issue.
    
    "Mom!" Aeris called, letting her voice reverberate throughout the house. "I'm taking Cloud to Sector 7. I'll be back in a while."
    
    At this the previously hidden Elmyra popped frantically out of the room she had been occupied in and turned to her daughter to protest. "But dear," she started, when the look of absolute determination on Aeris' face all but defeated her arguments. "I give up," she said in dejection. "You never listen once you've made up your mind." Just as she was about to turn around, though, she stopped cold in her tracks, pausing for a moment before continuing with her back to Aeris, "But if you must go, why don't you go tomorrow. It's getting late now."
    
    "Yeah, you're right, mom," Aeris conceded.
    
    "Aeris, please go make the bed," Elmyra said, "and your young friend can take a bath in the meantime."
    
    *** * * * ***
    
    Cloud had just finished putting on the last of his uniform and repairing the straps on his bandolier when Elmyra burst in with a bunch of towels. The action caused Cloud to instinctively ready for battle however, giving Elmyra quite a startle as he flipped away with a burning glow in his eyes.
    
    "Oh!" the elder woman exclaimed, letting the towels flutter to the wet floor. Cloud, after realizing what a startle the woman must have had, made his way to her help and began to assist in pulling the towels from the wet floor.
    
    Elmyra, however, hadn't made another move, her eyes always on Cloud until he had stowed the last of the towels away and turned to glance at her in kind.
    
    "That glow in your eyes…" Elmyra whispered softly to him, making Cloud realized exactly what had startled her. "You're from SOLDIER, right?"
    
    "Yeah," he said resignedly. "Rather I used to be…"
    
    Elmyra stood silently there looking at him and seemed to be making some sort of internal judgment. Finally, she spoke. "I don't know how to say this," she stammered slowly but sternly, "but, could you please leave here tonight." She hesitated. "Without telling Aeris," she finished.
    
    Cloud made no movement as he brushed past her softly and headed upstairs.
    
    "You need to go through Sector 6 to get to Sector 7," Aeris chirped as soon as her bodyguard reached the top step. "Sector 6 is a little dangerous so you'd better get some rest tonight." Cloud nodded in affirmation and followed Aeris to the guest room, not able to hear her words of comfort and reassurance as he focused all his energy on the dilemma at hand. 
    
    "Cloud…" Aeris said in an unusually loud voice, snapping him back to the reality that they had reached the guest room. For a moment she caught his gaze and smiled the sublime smile that Cloud had already been accustomed to her using in the short time they'd known one another. "Good night," she finally said, before spinning to the stairwell and making her way down to wish her mother good night.
    
    Cloud knew where he was, but it wasn't registering. Something like out of a dream had possessed him, it seemed, and his choices were becoming more and more limited as his experiences were growing wilder and wilder.
    
    _Leave here tonight…_
    
    The warrior known as Cloud Strife groaned. 
    
    "Oh man…"
    
    End of Chapter 4
    
    ****

****

****


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: All rights to Final Fantasy VII, all respective parties, and virtually anything I write about remotely related to said topics are copyright of Squaresoft. : (

Final Fantasy VII

Chapter 5: Of Pestilence and Prostitution—The Wall Market

The bed had seemed to envelope Cloud Strife in its warmth from the moment he touched it. The soft, silken sheets bounced upward against his spine gently, while the down pillows relaxed his aching head with a sensation greatly akin to flower petals. 

Though he had resigned himself to only a nominal stretch in an endeavor to remain alert, the comfort of the trappings continued to tempt him with the allure of sleep. Cloud yawned impulsively as he drowsily acknowledged it.

_…seem pretty tired…_

The comfort of the bed continued to soothe Cloud's pains, containing power in its pleasure that was only further enhanced by the extension of such pleasure on warriors—who, deprived of such pleasures by their livelihood cherished them all the more.

Cloud kept drifting despite his intentions, his eyes slowly closing from the dimming lights of the world. The bed continued to rock him gently with waves of comfort, reminding him of that refreshing feeling that the mysterious flower girl had somehow cast upon him. While not as refreshing or mystically healing, it did possess that strangest quality…of nostalgia.

_.......!?_

Cloud's eyes fired open impulsively as he became cognizant of the nostalgia, before closing almost just as rapidly.

_I haven't slept in a bed like this…in a long time._

He continued to recall, his brain suddenly breaking into overtime while his body began to lose all control.

_....Oh, yeah._

And then he remembered.

_Ever since that time._

*** * * * ***

_"My, how you've grown."_

_Cloud took his eyes off of the ceiling momentarily to glance over at the general direction of the voice. His eyes met the woman's for a brief second, before he sighed and rolled over the bed's comforter to the other side._

_"I'll bet the girls never leave you alone," the woman continued, scrubbing the pans fiercely with slender hands that looked built into hard work. She pulled back her orange-tinged hair and glanced back over at Cloud, who had rolled back over at her last statement._

_Cloud laid back dejectedly and looked up at the ceiling. "Not really," he spoke softly._

_Turning away from the pots and pans, the woman undid her apron and began to stroll towards Cloud, looking at him cautiously as she did._

_"…I'm worried about you," she finally said. Cloud turned over again._

_"There are a lot of temptations in the city…," she went on, trying to get the words out. "I'd feel a lot better if you just settled down and had a nice girlfriend."_

_The woman glanced over at Cloud's face, which seemed deadened at her last urgings. Without taking his eyes off the ceiling, he said slowly, "…I'm all right."_

_The woman, with a sparkle and a tear in her eyes, found the will to continue. "You should have…an older girlfriend," she persisted, now deeply concerned, "one that'll take care of you." She looked over at Cloud again, looking at how the overwhelming loom of the bed seemed to make him frail and childlike by comparison._

_Barely audible, a voice rose up out of Cloud as if to silence the whole debacle that had been deathly quiet to begin with._

_"I'm not interested."_

*** * * * ***

Cloud stirred as if on cue, rising from his position as if the bed below him had been transformed into needles. His head throbbed in awakening, as the refreshing feeling of nostalgia had been twisted into a twang of regret.

He didn't want to remember any longer. His thoughts turned towards the present. Glancing out the window groggily, Cloud surveyed the pitch-black night sky poking through the endless plate.

"…I must have fallen asleep," he mouthed breathlessly. Standing up shakily as he released himself from the beckoning rest, he crept towards the door—mindful of Aeris' stirrings in the adjacent room.

Cloud inhaled deeply. "Sector 7's past Sector 6…I should be all right by myself…," he whispered to himself in a method of strange coaxing, trying to wean himself from the fleeting sensations of the previous hours.

Slowly and carefully breaching the door, the man began to call upon all of his reserves in stealth to creep towards the stairs. He stuck stubbornly to the railing as he snuck, inching as close as he could while maintaining a maximum distance from Aeris' room. 

After what seemed like a lifetime, he finally reached the spiral staircase. A barely audible sigh of relief exhaled from Cloud's body, which subsequent rushed back as his first step sent a creak through the stairs that may as well have been deafening.

Cloud froze in a catlike position, waiting to see if he had awakened anybody. After a minute of absolute silence, he continued once more, with even greater cautiousness than before. Centimeter by centimeter, millimeter by millimeter, he made his way down with the utmost of care. His breathing all but stopped, his motions as soundless as could be, he at last reached the bottom of the stairs. Victory upon him, he made his way to the door in quiet exhilaration and exited the house.

Giving a final glance upwards towards Aeris' window, his face hardened with steely resolve as he sprinted away.

Through the twisted path of metal that hid the house from prying eyes he fled, bursting from the shrapnel in a single leap. His pace quickened farther as he dashed through Sector 5 in a blur, leaving the morning drunkards and elderly passersby in his wake.

The entrance to Sector 6 loomed closer and closer. Cloud moved even quicker in response, his movements heightening and heightening exponentially. But as he moved closer, they started to slow as his eyes began to widen at what exactly awaited him at the entrance of Sector 6. 

"No…no way," he stammered as he came to a dead halt at the gates.

"You're up bright and early."

Cloud still couldn't expel a response as he cringed backwards in astonishment from Aeris—who was lazily twirling her staff about from side to side. She had obviously been expecting Cloud, and was expecting still as Cloud attempted to recompose himself.

Cloud threw his hands in the air. "How could I ask you to go along when I knew it would be dangerous?" he pleaded.

Aeris leaned to one side against the gate and smiled with a gaze of amusement. "Are you done?" she said flippantly.

Cloud merely brushed his hair back and walked past the flower girl in response. His thoughts still wouldn't stop centralizing over…

_How?_

"You have to go through the slum in Sector 6 to get to Tifa's 7th Heaven," Aeris reiterated as if nothing had changed from their previous plans. "I'll take you there," she continued with a cheery glow, also revitalized from the night's rest. "C'mon!" 

*** * * * ***

Sector 6 was about as bad a place for any travel, Cloud soon realized after treading the twisted paths for a few minutes. He should have known something was up when he recalled Aeris refer to the area they were in as the slums—when she lived in the midst of a slum herself.

_A slum of the slums, _Cloud mused.

It appeared that people had once lived in this barren place. Those days, however, were as gone as they could have been. The area was crushed—literally, crushed—by the fall of a highway that in its shoddy construction had only been created to generate a quick source of revenue for the Reactor Six fund. Broken pieces of freeway dotted the landscape, as did fallen vehicles and pipelines that stretched the whole of the Plate's length.

"So, Cloud," Aeris chimed, interrupting his reverie, "you never did tell me your last name."

"Strife," Cloud answered coldly, letting the word speak the volumes that it always did.

"Strife?" she murmured back, her eyes drifting off as if contemplating the name.

"Yeah," he said in an affirmation to any other questions she might have. "Aptly named, if you get my drift."

Aeris noticed that the bloodstains and pained features upon Cloud's body appeared to pop out unnaturally, as if the mere brood of the man could make him more terrifying.

"Cloud," she started.

"What?" he shot back instantaneously as he clambered over a shattered railing.

Aeris stood straight up in indignation. "I just wanted to know some more about you, that's all!" she huffed.

Cloud froze almost in midair in his next bound over sheet metal. Suddenly feeling a great pain of regret almost like from his dream, he slowly turned about to face Aeris. His facial features softened, eliciting a smile from Aeris.

Then, the same guise hardened as before, prompting a disappointed look from Aeris. "Hey," she started only to be cut off as Cloud dived towards her and knocked her aside before raising his sword and chopping a six-legged spiral mouthed creature in twain.

Aeris gasped as vile purple blood splattered from the violet body, and then held her breath as multiple monsters of the same form began to creep from the wreckage of Sector 6's slums.

"Maybe later," Cloud said as he raised his sword into a defensive position. Aeris raised her staff as well, as they began to back away from the monsters. 

"Crap," Cloud muttered. The swarm was edging ever closer to the two preys, and they began to both back away together in response.

"C'mon," Cloud urged in an undertone. "C'mon…"

And exactly as the first of the creatures lifted from the air, Cloud reacted.

"Bolt-All!" 

Just as before, thunderbolts of incredible strength struck down in flurries, laying waste to the creatures that threatened Cloud and Aeris. But almost as soon as their enemies had been laid to waste, even more crazed mutants rose to take their place amidst the bubbling and boiling ashes of their comrades.

"Damn!" Cloud spat.

"Now what?" Aeris asked.

"Now we run," he responded, taking hold of her arm and yanking her in the opposite direction from the beasts an instant before they charged.

Over cobbled layers of broken pavement and through spiraled tubes and pipes the Ex-SOLDIER and the flower girl fled, each step only a moment ahead of their pursuers. 

"Jump!" Cloud shouted to Aeris, leaping with her across a ditch before turning around momentarily to dismember a monster that had made the mistake of getting just a little too close to his massive weapon. His eyes then fell upon something that made his spirits rise.

"Hey," he exclaimed brightly. "A house!" Cloud motioned to her to follow, and immediately dashed towards the place of refuge.

"Wait, Cloud! No!"

Cloud barely had time to react after he realized that he had just stepped into a trap. Before he could chastise himself for going so easily to the safe haven in a wasteland obviously devoid of inhabitants, let alone shelters, he was met with an explosive force as a huge rocket of flame burst forth from the roof of the house and careened towards him, sending him flying and scorching his flesh terribly.

"Ugh," Cloud barely grunted as he expelled a cough of blood from his mouth in pain. Hoisting himself onto his feet, he suddenly was aware that Aeris hadn't cast a healing spell after that assault—and that he couldn't see her anywhere.

"Cloud!"

"Damn!" Cloud swore, turning violently around only to find that a rift had been carved separating himself and Aeris due to the fiery display beforehand. Spying a large crane atop a precarious perch, he ascended upwards to find a better vantage point.

Hoisting himself into the cockpit of the rusted machinery, he spotted Aeris just beyond the rift swatting a few of the monsters away with her staff. She had just given a sideward blow to an oncoming one followed by a momentous swing from her staff that sent two monsters barreling into their other counterparts. However, Cloud could tell that she was easily outnumbered, and the numbers were beginning to swarm over the flower girl.

Then, the surrounding forces suddenly froze, as if paralyzed by some sort of new addition to the fray. Almost as quickly as they had emerged, they retreated, burrowing holes and backtracking into the cracked and fallen streets.

Just as the last of the creatures scurried away in terror, a large screech echoed through the canyons of steel, turning both Cloud and Aeris' attention to the 'trap' house that had left Cloud burning.

The charred remains of the deathtrap now seemed to swell, as the foundations of the house buckled and the burnt wood splintered, giving way to a burst of arms and legs of gigantic proportions. The windows shattered and the ground shook as the house was lifted from the ground by sheer properties of introversion, giving way to the hellish creature contained within the house.

_The perfect camouflage against humans, _Cloud observed in awe. Then, he tensed as he watched the monster give out another awful roar before charging Aeris with deceptively quick speed.

Aeris barely had time to dive out of the way as the monster muscled through the valleys of refuse. Recovering from the near miss, the symbiotic being swerved about, and widened its reach in an attempt to stalk its prey into submission within the enclosed space.

During this, Cloud had still not moved from his perch on high, and was instead fiddling with the controls in from of him with frustration. "Shit!" he said breathlessly. "It needs a jump start…"

With his last sentence, Cloud instinctively looked down, then immediately scoffed at his own impulsive behavior. _Then again, he thought, _it's been nothing but good luck so far…__

"Bolt!"

Cloud felt the shocks course through the machinery, driving it to life once more while the exhaustion of his magical reserves cut him just as profoundly. With a cold grimace, he shoved two levers on the contraption he was in forward, and hopped out with a slide.

Cloud had only seconds to gather what had transpired in the fight as he hopped from ledge to ledge, catching in glimpses that the monster had finally backed Aeris into a corner, and was aiming for his death stroke now.

"All right," Cloud gritted through his teeth. "Let's hope this works."

The monster trumpeted its final roar and attacked.

"Cover!"

An instantaneous blur shot across the field, leaving shockwaves in its wake as it streaked towards the conflict. In quicker time than it takes to tell, Cloud was in front of the monster's assault, and sustained the entire crushing blow.

Cloud slammed into the ground and skidded with almost total inertia before crashing hard into a raised pile of rubble as Aeris watched in shock. "Cloud!" she exclaimed.

"Aeris…," he responded hoarsely as he tried to drag himself to his feet in futility. "Quick…get on the top of the pipes!"

Aeris turned her attention to the protruding pipes out of the mess of jagged metal. Not waiting around to ask questions, she turned to the lead sockets and began to pull herself up them, using them as handrails to guide her.

The monster, however, had other plans for her. Pleased as it could be from the added bonus of an extra prey that had fallen into its lap, it now focused on Aeris once more with ferocity.

Fire ignited from the monster once more as it jumped and pounded the earth, sending reverberations through the wasteland of Sector 6. The ground scorched and burned despite being devoid of any fuel worth sustaining the flares.

Aeris was almost rocked off her niche as a result, as one of her hands let loose wildly while the other barely held on. Her staff dropped like a stone, careening into the flames and melting almost instantly upon contact. She now hung unguarded atop the metal staircase, and the monster was charging again.

It bashed into the massive cliff once more, with renewed force, and then backed up as if possessed before charging it again. Aeris didn't know how much longer she could hold on as the mountain itself seemed to bend from the force.

Then, just as the monster seemed ready to enact another shove, it stopped cold. It attempted to move, then screeched as it remained in the same place. It tried again, only to be frustrated once more.

If the abomination could have looked upwards, it would have realized that it was in the clutches of a vice, as the crane that Cloud had activated had at last reached its targeted space. The monster shrieked as it was hoisted into the air, the flames on the ground dissipating as soon as its feet left the surface. Relieved, Aeris dropped cataclysmically from the pipes above, landing roughly on the cold surface.

Amidst the roars of the defeated monster, Aeris was suddenly aware of Cloud's conspicuous absence. "Cloud!" she shouted, praying that he hadn't fallen victim to the monster's flames.

Her prayers were answered as she spotted him recovering in a corner of the debris, panting softly with relief.

"Cure!" Aeris cried, healing his wounds in the familiar manner of the spell before casting the same upon herself as well. Cloud took a sharp intake of breath as the restorative magic healed and closed his wounds once more. He stood up shakily, relieved.

"Cloud," Aeris started. "You were…so fast." 

"Yeah," Cloud remarked. "Ex-SOLDIER or no, that feat required some help—believe you me." He held up the arm with his Titan Bangle, revealing a violet materia in one of the slots on the armor.

"Cover," he said, holding his arm out while he reexamined it. "Completely independent, extremely strong materia. It allows one to take the blow for another…though it doesn't always succeed."

"I'm glad it did then," Aeris commented. As she observed the materia more closely, however, something clicked, and her eyes widened. "Cloud," she began slowly, "where did you get that materia?"

"Err…your garden," he admitted sheepishly. As his eyes met her disapproving stare once more, he defended, "But, you didn't even seem to know it was there!  This is actually useful!"

"I know," she said quietly. "But, I'm used to staying in the shadows—out of trouble," she explained in an insinuating tone, causing Cloud to scratch his head nervously. "People that carry materia are always tempting targets for thieves."

Cloud nodded as he came to understand. _In retrospect, he realized, _she's probably got her hands full as it is.__

"My staff," Aeris whispered, turning Cloud's attention to her stare at the burnt and melted metal that signified the assimilation of her weapon into the scrap heap of the graveyard that was Sector 6. 

"It's all right," Cloud assured. "I'll make it up to you. Besides, you're gonna need something to defend yourself with."

"Remember, your weapon is your life, so in the meantime," he warned, "don't run off." Aeris showed no visible response, but instead turned to ask a new question.

"What about…it?" Aeris asked, just in time for Cloud to stop short and turn around.

Pulling the gun from within his folded clothing, he pointed it directly at the screaming house monster and fired, blasting it from the grips of the crane and sending it tumbling down beyond in a prelude to a fiery display not unlike a miniature version of the Reactor bombings he had become so occupied in the last few days.

"What about it?" he shot right back, tucking the gun within his outfit and starting off towards Sector 7 once more.

*** * * * * **

As they continued to walk through the slums, now more relieved than before, Aeris spoke up as she led Cloud through the sector. "So, Cloud, I suppose your weapon is your life as well, right?" Cloud's silence served as a perfect response to her inquiry. "I mean," Aeris continued, "do you sleep with it at night, and give it a name?" She suppressed a giggle at this last thought.

"Yeah," Cloud replied with awkward seriousness, quickening his pace.

Aeris stared at him in response, taking her attention from guiding. "What's it called, then?" she asked, looking at the giant weapon resting within the sown-in bandolier.

"The Buster Sword," he replied. "A sword of immense power and even greater unwieldiness, to make sure that only a member of SOLDIER could ever wield it."

Cloud's pace began to stagnate as he dwelled on this. "All weapons of SOLDIER are like this, although just as distinct." Aeris studied the weapon, even more intrigued now that Cloud was discussing SOLDIER again. 

"I've had this weapon with me for longer than I can remember," Cloud said at last. "It has grown as I have, giving me strength and purpose."

"Purpose?" Aeris asked, only having her question cut short as Cloud stopped fully from his pace. Aeris looked up and away, and found herself staring at a giant erect door with the number seven plastered on it in cold and frayed paint.

"The gate to Sector 7's in there," Aeris spoke as she stared at the ominous separation between sectors, and one that Shinra actually seemed to care about separating, it seemed.

"Thanks," Cloud said, turning to the flower girl that had accompanied him through the Sector and meeting her downcast face. "I guess this is goodbye," he said, clearing his throat. "You gonna be alright going home?"

Cloud suddenly realized how stupid that question sounded. Aeris was now totally disarmed from the last encounter they had sustained with the monsters of Sector 6, and was obviously physically and mentally exhausted from the trip itself.

Aeris, however, was taking advantage of her own downtrodden appearance. "Oh no!" she cried loudly, "Whatever will I do?" As Cloud raised his eyebrow bemusedly, Aeris continued in a more serious tone, "…isn't that what you want me to say?"

Cloud's mind racked, ignoring the playful banter of the flower girl. _What am I going to do with her? _he questioned inwardly.

"I should see you home," he spoke warily.

"Isn't that a little out of the way?" Aeris finished his unspoken words, glancing back at the long and curving path behind them.

"Yeah, I guess so," Cloud admitted, searching his brain for more options. "But if I take you to Sector 7…"

"I could do that," Aeris cut in quickly, beaming at Cloud. Then she herself seemed to turn serious. "But won't I be in your way?"

Cloud nearly laughed himself at the irony of the last comment. "What do you mean in the way?" he spoke, stifling his own emotions.

"Nothing!" Aeris returned, now a bit visibly agitated. She breathed a long sigh, and tucked her hands behind her back calmly. "Can we take a break?" she asked.

Cloud shrugged in assent, and Aeris ran towards the gates and an oddly positioned playground that stood in the foreground of the giant gate of the sector. While Cloud was merely curious of the juxtaposition between the two phenomena, Aeris' reaction was far more poignant.

"I can't believe it's still here," she mouthed with a tear in her eye.

Swings, a merry-go-round, and all other forms of children's playthings littered the area. Aeris made a beeline straight for the large slide carved into the bust of an animal, and climbed to the top of the slide and sat upon it. "Cloud, get over here!" she shouted to her bodyguard.

Cloud walked over to the slide with a deceptive strut, before performing one of his amazingly high leaps and landing squarely next to Aeris atop the slide. He sat down beside her, relaxing for one of the few times in his life that he was allowed to.

"What rank were you?" Aeris asked him almost methodically, staring out into the distance.

"Rank?" Cloud responded, not really paying attention to the words as he did the same.

"You know, in SOLDIER," Aeris continued, stretching her hands behind her back.

"Oh, I was…," Cloud started, clearing his head from his totally relaxed state in a flash, "First Class."

Aeris stared down as she registered this new piece of information. "Just the same as him," she commented.

"The same as who?" Cloud's ears perked up, as now Aeris seemed to have some critical information to share.

"My first boyfriend," she answered wistfully, looking back at Cloud with intense scrutiny, though he seemed oblivious to this now.

"You were…serious?" Cloud asked, setting off an unknown twinge in the back of his mind.

"No," she answered. "But I liked him for a while."

"I probably knew him," Cloud said, strangely bringing no response from the flower girl. "What was his name?" he asked, probing this new echelon of information.

Aeris shook her head in response, and her eyes seemed to glaze over as she thought. "It doesn't really matter," she trailed off.

They both sat beside each other on the slide in silence, each of them no longer relaxing but trying to cope with the ghosts of their pasts in tandem. Time seemed to fly by without meaning, until both Cloud and Aeris were snapped back into the present as the great gate to Sector 7 began to rumble open behind them.

A large, bird-like creature emerged from the darkness of the entrance, tugging an old-fashioned and gaudy carriage in tow. What caught Cloud's attention, however, was the sight of a girl dressed in a skimpy blue dress standing in the back of the carriage. His eyes widened.

"Huh? Hey, back there…," Cloud whispered. He was sure of it now.

Standing up, Cloud shouted, "Tifa!" just as the gate to Sector 7 closed and the carriage turned into another direction, heading off into Sector 6.

Aeris stood up as well. "That girl in the cart was Tifa?" she asked Cloud. "Where was she going? She looked kind of odd…," she mused, no doubt having noticed Tifa's strange choice of garments as well as Cloud.

Impulsively, she hopped down and began to chase after the cart, running after it at full speed deeper into the bowels of Sector 6.

Cloud could hardly believe this turn of events as he shook his head. "Wait!" he yelled after her as she trailed the cart. "I'll go on alone! You go home!" But Aeris had already been long gone. 

Cloud shook his head ferociously once more in disbelief, hopped down from the slide and began to follow Aeris from the slums of Sector 6 into something unknown.

*** * * * ***

Neon grime and dullish glitter, piss-stained and booze-soaked streets, and a smoky suffocation that threatened to consume everything that dared to breathe—there was no denying its allure. Nestled within the crevice between the supports of the Plate and the gates of Sector 7, the most popular and populous place of the slums that even attracted dwellers atop the Plate for forbidden desires was everything its namesake suggested, and even more. The lanterns dotted the street ways with an eerie glow, beckoning potential customers to wares untold and were supplemented by the heckling of the proprietors themselves heckling others to buy—most jovially, some not so. 

_So this is the famous Wall Market, _Cloud thought as he entered through the archway into the area in his pursuit. 

Spotting Aeris up ahead, he soon realized that she had lost sight of the cart, and was now calmly waiting for him up ahead. "I thought I told you not to run off," he told her exasperatedly as he approached. The flower girl responded merely with a shrug that Cloud found oddly familiar.

"This place is scary in a lot of ways," Aeris commented, glancing around. "Especially for a girl. So we've got to find Tifa fast."

"Agreed," Cloud said in response. "Let's go."

The Ex-SOLDIER and the flower girl began to walk down the streets together, trying to avoid the hustle and the bustle of the crowds as much as possible. Unlike before, Aeris was actually making sure not to stray from Cloud's side. 

"Hey, you two. Why don't you get some rest! We have a beautiful room, how 'bout it?"

"Feelin' bad? Why not stop on here and soothe all your problems away?"

"Best food in all of Midgar, right here! Don't stop to give a second thought, you won't regret it!"

Cloud politely declined each of the offers that came his way with a wave, still ever searching for the cart or anybody that looked like that they knew anything about it. He stopped short when he spotted a lone alleyway, one that looked sparsely trodden save for one distinct feature—the bird-like tracks and trails of a carriage that dotted the path. 

"Over here," Cloud pointed to Aeris, and they both entered the alley only to emerge shortly after at an unmistakable—and unapologetic—brothel. Cloud shook his head worriedly. "I hope Tifa hasn't gotten herself into too much trouble," he said aloud.

He then spotted somebody that he never thought he would have seen here—although it was fitting, he decided on second thought.

"Man…," Johnny wailed as if he were completely alone, not minding the hordes of other men swarming outside the brothel doors. "Should I go…or not? I get so mental at times like this. I'm hopeless!" Then, finally opening his eyes for a brief second, he noticed Cloud standing near him with Aeris at his side. 

Even more excitable than before, he shouted, "Hey!! Aren't you…?" recognizing Cloud and became partially relieved before realizing where he was again. "What!!" he shouted in a sort of epiphany, despite the fact that Cloud hadn't spoken one word to him. "You mean, you're….too?" Cloud gave a deep sigh in response, obviously frustrated from encountering Johnny again.

Suddenly Johnny seemed to notice Cloud's companion as well. Instead of attempting to empathize with the Ex-SOLDIER, he suddenly seemed to take on an air of condemnation. "You're Tifa's childhood friend," he started, eliciting the inevitable twang once more, "and you brought a girlfriend to a place like this!? What kind of guy are you!!"

Cloud spoke for the first time, scoffing, "Don't bring me down to your level." Ignoring Aeris' disappointing looks, he glared at Johnny as the Mako tinge of his eyes began to burn.

"What…," Johnny started, then looked away ashamedly as he realized his mistake. "Me too. I decided this after a lot of deep thought. My last memories of Midgar…you know." He glanced over to the guy at the entrance of the brothel before quickly looking away as he continued, "But…that guy over there kind of scares me."

He looked up to find that Cloud had already left him, having had enough of his seemingly random babble. None the too hurt, he began to go back to moaning and wailing about the brothel once more.

"The Honeybee Inn," Cloud read as he walked over to the entrance and was greeted by a slick-haired and dark-suited man with a grin on his face. He held out his greasy hand in welcome, and Cloud took it slowly with reservation.

"Welcome!!" the man boomed graciously at the stoic Ex-SOLDIER. "Even unpopular dweebs, like you," he spoke with unusual loudness over the crowd, "may meet their destiny here!!" 

With a lisp and a whistle through his teeth, the man slimily offered, "You looking for a girlfriend too?"

"You know a girl named Tifa?" Cloud asked, straight and to the point.

"Hey, you're pretty fast," the man responded, now actually looking visibly impressed. "Tifa's our newest girl." Before Cloud could speak up, the man continued, "But, unfortunately, she's having an interview right now."

As Cloud was about to ask, "Interview?" the man went on, "Here at the Honey Bee Inn, it's customary for all the new girls to be taken to Don Corneo's mansion." Going on without stopping for breath, he elaborated, "Don Corneo's a famous dilettante. Now he wants to settle down and is in the market for a bride."

"A bride!" Cloud exclaimed along with Aeris, who he scarcely remembered was there. But the man had already left, obviously bored with a sale that wasn't completely eager to jump all over the offer to the 'Inn'.

"Looks like we'd better get down to this 'Corneo' person's place as soon as possible," Aeris remarked. 

"Yeah," Cloud said. "But something tells me that we're going to need some preparations beforehand."

*** * * * ***

"We just got this in yesterday," the old man commented, presenting Cloud with a lightweight rod with two materia slots engraved into the side. "Made of the finest Mythril, and only 370 gil to boot."

"We'll take it," Cloud said to the old man. "Oh, and you got any Mythril-based armor, by any chance."

"Mythril Armlets, the finest in the land," the man replied, handing him two gauntlets with four materia slots between them. "Seven-hundred gil for the both of them," he offered. Cloud nodded his head in agreement, handing over the payment for all of the equipment. The old man smiled warmly at Cloud and return, and waved him off happily from the weapon shop as he strode out.

"How does it handle?" Cloud asked Aeris, handing her the rod.

"Okay," she said, "but I sort of miss my old one."

"I know the feeling," Cloud said with a nod. He tossed her one of the Mythril Armlets. "Switch your Iron Bangle for this," he advised. He then looked at what she was doing. "Wait!" he cried.

"What?" Aeris asked, looking perfectly normal as Cloud stopped, confounded by what he was seeing. Aeris was wearing three pieces of armor—a feat that required so much concentration of magical density, that it was taken as fact, unquestioned, that no person could do so without becoming almost incapacitated with weakness.

"Are you okay?" Cloud asked her, still in a daze. 

"Sure," she replied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Cloud decided not to press the issue any further, only telling her, "Let's only wear three of these at a time, to be safe, all right?"

"Okay," she said, truthfully confused by Cloud's reaction. She then switched topics in a characteristic blur. "Cloud, thanks for all this," she said.

"Don't thank me," he said in return while he replaced his Bronze Bangle with the Mythril Armlet, "thank your good friend Hunt—our dearly departed sponsor of our night on the town." Aeris couldn't help but laugh.

"You find out where Corneo's place is?" he asked more seriously.

"Yep," she replied. "It's just up here, around this corner, and through this way…"

And before Cloud knew it, he was standing before an ornate and lavish building that seemed to be stylized after Western Pagodas, with exorbitant amounts of golden and silvery statues and pillars littering the place. The fact that even among all of the drudgery no one had dared to attempt to steal anything of value was an even greater testament to the place itself. With Aeris in tow, he walked up to the door purposefully and was stopped by yet another one of the bouncers he had been so accustomed to seeing as of late.

"This is the mansion of Don Corneo, the most powerful man in Wall Market," the bouncer proclaimed as if he were reading from a script. He glanced the intimidating warrior up and down, and shook his head as if from an inside joke. "Look, the Don's not into men," he said coldly. "So don't let me catch you around here again…"

At that point the bouncer seemed for the first time to catch a glance at Aeris, and he suddenly became much more interested. "Hey, and you got another cute one with you!" he remarked. 

Aeris seemed to have an idea right then, and turned Cloud around, whispering to him. "Hey, this looks like the Don's mansion. I'll go take a look," she said. "I'll tell Tifa about you."

Cloud grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back. "No! You can't!" he exclaimed.

"Why?" Aeris asked as she was restrained.

"You DO know…what kind of…," Cloud said, lowering his voice even more, "place this is, don't you?"

"Then, what am I supposed to do?" she demanded of him, looking him up and down not unlike the bouncer had done previously. "You want to go in with me?"

Cloud pondered this for a while. "Well, being a man, that'll be pretty hard," he observed in a classic statement of the obvious. "Besides if I bust in there, it'll cause too much commotion."

"But, I can't just let you go in alone…oh, man…," he continued. "First, we'll need to find out if Tifa's alright…"

However, he was interrupted when he realized that Aeris had been giggling ever since he was talking—unashamedly. She stifled her chuckles for a moment to talk, though Cloud was sure that he wouldn't like what she had to say.

"What's so funny, Aeris?" he asked her against all of his natural instincts.

"Cloud, why don't you dress up like a girl?" she blurted out in near hysterics, keeping her voice down as best she could. "It's the only way."

"WHAT!?" Cloud burst out, unaware that his voice had risen to a gigantic level.

"Just wait," Aeris called back to the doorman, dragging Cloud back with her. "I've got a cute friend I want to bring."

"All right!" he replied. "Just as well—we're not taking anybody new until tomorrow anyways. Be there then."

"Aeris!" Cloud pleaded in despair, feeling as though he was being castrated right then and there. "I can't…"

"You ARE worried about Tifa, aren't you?" she insisted. "Then come on, hurry!"

Cloud assented at last, stomaching only a reply of, "Can we at least get something to eat first?"

*** * * * ***

"Welcome! Sit wherever you like!"

The cook behind the counter greeted Cloud and Aeris cheerfully as they entered, though his advice was little more than complimentary, as there were only two vacant seats in the restaurant. Pulling up to the counter, both Cloud and Aeris sat down—the former occupied with the menu, the latter with the future…

"You're going to need a dress, that's for sure—it should probably be the first thing we get," Aeris thought aloud, while Cloud's head sunk even lower and lower into his menu.

"Then we're going to need all sorts of other things—jewelry, perfume, makeup…oh, I just can't wait!"

"Aeris," Cloud said dejectedly, "could you please try to make it seem like this isn't TOO much fun for you?"

Aeris seemed not to notice this last comment. She continued to wonder next to Cloud, barely focused on her menu at all.

"Yes, what will you have?" the cook asked Cloud, feeling that he had been given ample time.

"Just give me the special," he mumbled, giving the cook the menu.

"And for you, miss?" he asked of Aeris.

"Oh! I'll have the same as whatever he's having," she answered hurriedly.

"Two Today's Specials," he repeated, writing down the order. "Comin' up!"

He eyed the two people with a bit of an edge, before continuing, "In this store, you pay first. It'll be 70 gil each." Cloud handed over the money impatiently, and went back to his sulking.

"Thank you," the cook said as he took the money, ignoring the grudging manner in which it was given. "Just a second."

After what seemed like an eternity to Cloud, the food arrived. Not bothering to see what it was, and going near mad with hunger from going without food for the past few days, he scarfed the food down in a matter of seconds and spent the rest of the time waiting for Aeris to politely finish her food. By the time she was done, Cloud was speculating that perhaps he had eaten too fast—he was beginning to feel a little queasy.

"So, how was it sir?" the cook in front asked Cloud as he got up to leave.

"It was all right," he forced out with a bit of an ache.

"Thank you," the cook said, pleased. "Here's an item coupon for the Pharmacy," he continued as he presented a worn coupon from within his sleeve. "You can exchange it for one item there." He looked over to Aeris. "Sorry miss, but this is the VERY last coupon of them all. We're out of coupons, so we stopped giving them away." 

Aeris feigned a look of mock-sadness for the cook, who obviously didn't understand as he quickly added, "Watch for our NEXT promotion!"

"All right, all right," Cloud said, hurrying out. _If anything, he thought, __I can at least put this coupon to some good use._

"Cloud? Are you all right?" Aeris asked concernedly as she seemed to notice his nausea for the first time, apparently over the novelty of Cloud's cross-dressing at last.

"I think so…," he said weakly. "But let's go to the Pharmacy before we get the dress, just in case."

*** * * * * **

Cloud and Aeris walked into the clothing store soon afterwards, Cloud very much relieved after downing half the Digestive medicine that he had received in exchange for his coupon. He put it into his satchel, just in case of a relapse, and stood out of the way while Aeris wandered into more unfamiliar territory.

"Excuse me!" the flower girl piped up, jerking the attention of the desk clerk to herself. "I'd like to get a dress," she sweetly said, leaning over the counter in anticipation.

The clerk looked over at her uneasily, as if in a daze. Her voice cracking, she stated, "Umm, it might take a little time. Will that be all right?"

While the look on Aeris' face made the answer to that question painfully clear, her voice did not betray her emotions as she inquired, "What's the problem?"

"Well, my father," the clerk said, muttering the word with a visible shudder, "the owner, has been in a slump lately. You see, he makes all the dresses." She wore a look of inadequacy as she spoke the words.

"And, where is your father?" Aeris asked, none deterred by the obstacle presented.

"He's probably plastered at the bar," came the sullen response.

"So…," Aeris spoke, thinking the dilemma through, "You're saying we can't get a dress unless we do something about your father?"

"Yes. I'm sorry," she apologized. "He's caused so much trouble." Without another word, the clerk turned back around to her duties, and left Aeris standing at the desk. A few moments later, she came to a sudden realization—her potential customer wasn't leaving in disgust.

The clerk seemed to spark up instantaneously. "You'd help me bring him back?" she ventured timidly, trying not to press her luck as much as she could.

"Well, if we don't do something, we don't get a dress, right?" Aeris insisted.

"Really!?" the clerk exclaimed, scarcely believing her good fortune. "Please help my crazy old dad," she implored. "I just don't know what to do anymore…"

"All right, we'll do something," Aeris said at last, cutting him off. "She motioned to the silent Cloud, who was idling himself twiddling his fingers in a corner. "Let's go Cloud!"

Cloud obeyed without question. Although all this taking a backseat in the decision-making was definitely something that he was unused to, when it came to these kinds of things…

_It's better left to her, _Cloud told himself for the umpteenth time as he followed her north towards the bar.

The bar in question had not yet begun to fill up with its share of customers yet, by the look of things, it being only evening. But the first man conspicuous in the smoky haven was a man who seemed to be almost drowning in his own alcoholic stench, calling up all sorts of cocktails and gulping them before he could even seem to get a good look at him. 

_I already know, _Cloud cursed inwardly at his own misfortune. _That's…_

"Excuse us, are you the father of the girl at the Clothing Store?" Aeris asked, though Cloud's disdain pretty much indicated that the question was merely a formality.

"I own the Clothes Shop…," the man slurred, surprising Cloud with the mere fact that he was still able to articulate at all. "But I ain't your father."

"I didn't say that…," Aeris started, tapping her foot impatiently.

Cloud took this moment to butt in and try to nip the whole problem in the bud. "Make me some clothes," he demanded.

Predictably, this only got the drunkard more riled and focused on the intimidating figure before him. "I don't make men's clothes," he stated matter-of-factly. "And I don't feel like makin' anything right now."

Turning about as if the discussion had ended, he swiveled the stool and went back to drowning his sorrows. Aeris turned similarly to Cloud, who was slightly embarrassed at the situation gone awry.

"Cloud, you wait over there for a second," she said, pointing to the back of the bar. "I'll try and talk to him. Why don't you go over there and have something to drink."

Reaffirming his love of detachment once more, Cloud walked away towards the bar and left Aeris to her own devices. 

"You know, mister," Aeris said in a hushed tone as soon as Cloud was out of earshot, "He always said that just once, he'd like to dress up as a girl." The man, although still very much drunk, became more alert than he had the entire time Aeris had been speaking to him.

Noticing this, Aeris continued, "So, that's why I wanted a cute dress for him…"

"What!?" the drunken man spluttered with a swivel of his chair. "A tough lookin' guy like that?" he said as he observed Cloud taking down a large beer in one sitting.

Watching the old man scrutinize him with uncomfortable interest from the other side of the room, Cloud stood up from the stool, paid the barkeep, and headed to the bathroom. Pushing the door open, he was surprised to find a woman bent over the toilet in agony, vomiting profusely into its bowels. 

The woman noticed him as well amidst her puking. "HEY…," she screamed, "someone's IN here…"

The woman's eyes dulled as the wave of sickness seemed to relapse, "Don't look!" she warned half-heartedly.

Cloud was instinctively compelled to leave, but then was cognizant of his own predicament from just over a half hour ago. He walked up to the woman.

"What…urk…," she forced out, looking up at him.

"Here…take this," Cloud said, handing her the remainder of the Digestive medicine he had purchased from the Pharmacy.

"Huh?" the woman asked as he presented it. "You'll really give me some?" She put on a wavy smile as she took the flask. "Thanks."

At the same time, Aeris was just wrapping up her negotiations. "So, how 'bout it?" she said. "Will you make him one?"

The old man seemed convinced at last. "...might be interesting," he finished in mid-sentence. "I was gettin' a little bored just makin' regular clothes."

"Then you'll do it for us?" Aeris finished happily.

"Yeah, all right," he agreed. "What kind of dress you want?"

Aeris' thoughts immediately went to the most perfect dress that she could think of. "Something that feels soft," she mused. "And something…that shimmers." 

Before she could even get started, however, the man cut her off. "Hmm, got it," he said, then seemed to think harder before saying to Aeris, "Y'know I got a friend that has the same taste as him. I'll go talk to him." Aeris nodded politely at the strange old man, then watched as he paid his tab and left the bar at last.

"Phew, I feel better now. This is for your kindness," the woman said to Cloud in the bathroom, now visibly relieved. She handed him a bottle of her own in gratitude, and strolled right back to the bar as she ordered up another drink.

As Cloud tried not to think too much of that and began to examine the bottle, he heard Aeris' voice in the distance. "Cloud! We got the dress!" she said with a smile. "Let's go."

"Just a second," Cloud started, then stopped short as another guy (who had apparently been waiting for the restroom for hours) rushed past him and locked the door shut. "Never mind," he said, depressed.

"Hey, what's that?" Aeris asked as she noticed the bottle in Cloud's hands.

"Oh, I dunno," he replied. "I got it from this woman…"

"Oooh!" the flower girl blurted as she realized what the item was. "We can probably use this."

"What is it?" Cloud asked with no small measure of reservation.

"Later," Aeris answered. "Right now, let's just go get that dress."

*** * * * ***

"Oh, you're here," the owner of the Clothes Shop said cheerfully as he noticed Cloud and Aeris entering from the doorway. 

"Is it ready?" Cloud asked expectantly.

"Oh, heavens no!" the old man responded. "A dress suited to…your design will at least have to take until tomorrow to complete.

"Hmm…," Aeris mused thoughtfully. "Anything else we can try in the meantime?"

"Sure," the Clothes Shop owner said. "Just take one of those old dresses from the back. You'll probably just end up ripping it to shreds, but it should give you a good idea of what it's like."

"All right," Cloud said, bracing himself. Grabbing a musty off-the-rack number as he crossed the store, he stepped into the dressing room.

It was there, amidst the scrapes and scuffling that he encountered his most serious problem (other than the fact that he had no idea how to put on the dress in the first place). Putting the problem aside for the moment, he began to climb into the ragged and flimsy material.

"How…do you put this thing on?" he groaned as the dress stretched and ripped even further as he doubled his efforts.

Then, to his aghast shock, he was met by Aeris' face—peeking through the beaded curtain at him.

"Whoa!" he shouted as he recoiled in horror. "What are you doing?"

Aeris ignored the comment as she examined him. "It's still not right. A wig! That's what you need!"

She turned back to the shop owner, who was waiting quite expectantly. "Umm, I thought you might," he said as Aeris reluctantly backed her head out of the dressing room at Cloud's urging, "so I talked to my friend about getting one."

"You know the gym?" he continued as Cloud exited the dressing room in a perturbed state. "You'll find a lot of people there like you. Go and talk to them."

"…like you?" Cloud said after a long stare before turning to Aeris. "Aeris, what did you tell him?"

"Does it matter?" she said, brushing off the question. "Anyhow, we got a pretty dress!"

"That reminds me," Cloud said, and unsheathed his giant weapon from his bandolier. "Listen," he said to the shop owner, who had apparently sobered up enough to just start noticing the massive weapon. He gulped painfully.

"I need you to implement this in the dress," he said as he laid out his weapon on the counter, barely fitting it on. "Also, I want to be able to wear my regular clothes under it."

"Wow," the old man said, scratching his head. "I suppose we could transform THIS," stopping as he looked again at the weapon, "into some sort of decorative piece on the back. Per your specifications, it's going to have to be a kimono of some sort."

"That'll be fine," Cloud said, leaving him the sword as he and Aeris left for the gym.

"Well," the owner said to himself as they left, "I did say I was tired of making just regular clothes…"

He heaved the weapon as much as he could into the back and went to work.

*** * * * ***

The large, neon sign with the simple word 'GYM' plastered upon it was all the directions Cloud and Aeris needed to find the place. Passing through the screen door, they realized they had encountered a rather…odd kind of gym.

The place was jam-packed full of men, most of them dressed down to only their skivvies. A few boxed in a rather slow manner within the ring, while others seemed to be practicing squat thrusts, and others still were just admiring themselves in the mirror.

"I don't know what this place is, and I don't want to know," Cloud stated flatly. "Let's just get the wig and leave."

Almost as in a direct reaction to his statement, a stout, waist-high man that obviously dabbled in femininity walked up to him. Jumping up, he tugged at Cloud's shirt, causing the Ex-SOLDIER to jump back at the unexpected contact.

"You the one…," the man said as Cloud fought to keep his temper from flaring, "who wants to be cute?"

"Cute?" replied in near indignation.

"Right," Aeris cut in, seeing as Cloud was obviously disturbed. "And about the wig…"

"Yeah, I heard," the guy said, tossing his hair back glamorously. "But it'll cost ya."

"Urrrrgh!!!" came a groan from the back as a large, burly, and (predictably) almost-naked guy came running from his position in the gym to the conversation. He thrust out his chest and turned to Cloud with a puff.

"Big Bro!!" he shouted almost incoherently. "The only way you're gonna get cuter is if you can beat the Big Bro!!"

"That's right!" came a voice from the other side of the gym, followed by the 'boxers' hopping over the side of the ring to join the swell of individuals. "So, you've got to compete with us!" the 'boxer' said to Cloud, flexing his muscle as he did so.

"You're right," the man who had first approached Cloud agreed. "Let's do squats." Cloud appeared to noticeably shudder at the sound of this.

"All right!" the man who had revealed himself to be the 'Big Bro' exclaimed enthusiastically. "We'll beat you out of this gym!"

Hearing the name 'Big Bro', however had also made something in Cloud's memory click. He turned to the stout man, and realized he looked oddly familiar. "Are you…?" he started.

"THE Beautiful Bro?" Aeris finished, obviously having caught the same thing. Even if you weren't a fan, it was hard to miss the pictures on torn pages that fluttered around the streets of Midgar.

"What?" one of the men blurted out in shock that they hadn't known to begin with. "You didn't know?" He began to grumble, looking over at the 'Big Bro'. "Always running around here saying Big Bro' this, Big Bro' that…"

Even the Beautiful Bro was looking confused at this point. "Never mind that, come over here," he motioned to Cloud. "All right," he said, "whoever has the most squats at the end of 30 seconds gets the wig."

The Big Bro glared at Cloud and laughed. "I'm not going to lose," he boasted, pointing to himself. "Big Bro's wig is MINE!!"

The Beautiful Bro sighed. "Just be quiet…," he ordered. He looked at them both once more. "Start!"

_Just don't think about it, just don't think about it…_, Cloud pleaded with his psyche as he began to do squats as quickly as he could. As he fought to squat as quickly as he could while keeping the thought of all the other men in the gym staring at him, his stress invariably caused him to accelerate his squats even further. Pumping his legs furiously, he felt as though these thirty seconds were just as good as a lifetime. 

"Stop!" the Beautiful Bro's voice rang out, clicking his timer. He looked at Cloud edgily. "He had 20 squats," he said, motioning to the Big Bro, who thrust his arms upward victoriously, "and you had…how many was it, Jim?"

"I dunno," Jim said in response. "I lost track after 40."

"You're really something," the Beautiful Bro said to a thoroughly embarrassed Cloud whilst ignoring the outraged Big Bro. "Okay, I'm a man of my word, here you are." He handed Cloud a blonde and fragrant wig that went with his hair color nicely. 

Cloud took it gingerly, stuffing it into his satchel roughly. The Big Bro began to wail.

"I'm so mad," he screamed girlishly, "I'm so so so—mad!"

Winding up his fist, the Beautiful Bro turned about perfectly and swung a giant punch at him, knocking him across the room, while yelling in a not so girlish tone, "Shut up! Don't cry just because you lost!"

"Uuuhh," Big Bro stammered as the others rushed to his aid, "Bro's fists of steel cut to the bone!"

Cloud gave up one more sigh and exited the place, hoping he wouldn't have to encounter anything like that for a relatively long time. Then, realizing exactly what this was all for, he sighed again in defeat.

"Well, Cloud," Aeris said happily in an attempt to cheer him up. "That's about everything we're going to need to pass you off as a woman." 

Cloud seemed at least a little consoled by this fact. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go find an inn."

As he spoke those last words, the ears of a passerby pricked up at their sound. Turning around, he spoke quietly. "Hey, buddy."

As Cloud made a motion towards him, the guy continued. "You spending tonight at the inn? Well, if you are, come to the Materia store later. It'll be worth your while."

Without another word, the man ducked off into the shadows, leaving Cloud and Aeris alone once more.

"Hey, it couldn't hurt…," Aeris started.

"What do you mean?" Cloud shot back before she could start. "I thought you knew how dangerous this place was."

"Yeah, but I was just starting to have fun," she lilted. Cloud seemed to almost soften at those naïve words.

"Okay," he said. "Let's just go see what this is all about."

*** * * * ***

"Hey man. Got a minute?" the owner of the Materia store spoke as Cloud and Aeris entered. "I need to talk…man to man."

Cloud was aware that there didn't seem to be any Materia on display, and that the room was very dimly lit. In fact, his first impression from outside the place had been that it was closed. 

"What is it?" he asked, tapping his fingers on the counter in an indication that he did not want this to be a waste of his time.

"Really?" the guy said in response, despite the fact that Cloud had only asked what his problem was. "I really appreciate it." 

The man then seemed for the first time to notice Aeris alongside Cloud. "…I'm sorry, but, young lady?" he started nervously, clearing his throat. "Would you turn the other way, for a second?"

"Why…?" Aeris started.

Cloud sighed. He wanted this to be over with. "…Aeris," he said as he looked at her meaningfully.

"Gosh!" Aeris pouted, turning away to the door and leaving Cloud with the Materia shop's owner.

"I'm sorry, lady," the man called after her, before turning to Cloud again. "Now here's the thing," he whispered. "Do you know that vending machine in the inn?" Cloud shook his head no.

"It's easy to spot," he went on. "I'm itchin' to know what they're selling in it. I just can't ask a girl to go get it."

_Yeah, it's probably better that Aeris DIDN'T hear that_, Cloud thought as he heard this last statement, before a new question entered his mind.

"What?" the man said, cutting him off before he could open his mouth. "Why don't I buy it myself? Well to tell you the truth, I got in a fight with the guy at the inn and can't go there anymore. Come on, so how 'bout it?"

Cloud thought it over for a brief second, then spoke. "I'll go," he agreed.

"Good, thanks," the Materia Shop owner said. "I'll be waitin' here when you're done."

Cloud turned around and tapped Aeris on the shoulder lightly. "Finished?" she queried. He held the door open in response.

"Let's go get some sleep," Cloud said. "We've got a big day tomorrow."

*** * * * ***

Cloud stared up listlessly at the ceiling from his bed, trying to ignore the questionable stains that dotted the ceiling of the room. He looked back over to Aeris once more, who was sleeping soundly on a bed opposite his own, and looked back to the ceiling once more in what could only be described as boredom.

_Well, at least this bed isn't reminding me of who-knows-what_, Cloud mused as he shifted his weight on the stiff mattress, ducking in and out of pricking and poking feathers. 

An hour later, still sleepless, he decided it was time to get up. Carefully rising out of bed, he exited the room with a sneak and headed out to the vending machine in the lobby.

"Hmm…," Cloud muttered as he looked over the items in succession. He hadn't thought of it before, but the guy had never really told exactly what to get. He kept looking around to see anything of interest, when a small set of cans caught his eye.

"He means this?" Cloud whispered to himself as he saw the price tag of 200 gil for the item. Dropping in the money for the luxury, he took the cans out and hurried back to his room.

_All right, _Cloud thought harshly as he laid down in his room once more. _Please, just give me a nice, dreamless sleep…_

And for once, his request was granted.

"All right, today's the day," Aeris said happily as she shook Cloud from his empty sleep. Awakening like a zombie, he stood up and headed to the bathroom to clean himself and his ragged clothes.

"Hurry up," Aeris called out in a sing-song voice, having obviously freshened up earlier in the morning. She paced outside the bathroom impatiently, rapping against the door to pass the time.

"Remember, Cloud, you're going to have to be presentably clean today," she called in as she passed the time. This was to both their advantages as well—nobody was going to fall for a girl that smelled like a SOLDIER, no matter how pretty they looked on the surface.

Cloud gave an audible sigh in response. He continued to clean.

"All right," he said at last as he opened the door in a cleansed state. Aeris, delighted, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the inn, leaving him barely enough time to pay the bill as they left.

"I got it," Cloud stated as he and Aeris walked into the Materia Shop, waking the owner from his snoozing.

"Oh, really!!" he said as he awakened from his snooze. As he rubbed his eyes expectantly, he again noticed Aeris standing closely behind Cloud. "Hey!" he protested at her, motioning her away.

"Geez," Aeris said loudly as she turned away again to the door as she had the previous night.

The owner of the Materia store turned back to Cloud again. "And, what was it?" he whispered lowly, holding out his hands in anticipation.

Cloud merely handed the item to him, watching the owner's face fall as he did so. The owner first stammered, then merely looked insulted.

"A protein drink set," he said with disdain, tossing the cans aside. "That jerk. I'm gonna do so much business than him, his head'll spin."

He shook Cloud's hand in thanks. "Thanks, bud. I'm motivated now." Going to the back of the store, he procured a crown-like device, which upon closer inspection was evident as a lovely Tiara, encrusted with diamonds. "Take this, it's not much…"

"Whoa!" Cloud said in response, perking up Aeris' ears as he did so. "What makes you think I have any need for this?!"

"Well," the man said nervously, "I sort of assumed the sort when you came out of that gym." Cloud's temper dived when he realized exactly what kind of an impression he must have been giving off.

"But," the man continued excitedly, "if that's not enough payment, I can give you a tip on where to get some other items like that." He handed over a card to Cloud. "This is a Member's Card to the Honeybee Inn," he spoke suggestively. "There you'll find all the—feminine products that you could ever desire." He supplemented, "For whatever reason you may need."

Cloud took it skeptically before turning back to Aeris, who had overheard the last part of the conversation. "Well, what do you think?" he said to her.

"We've got a little more time before we're supposed to be at the Don's," Aeris remarked thoughtfully. "Besides, you could probably use all the…help you can get." She giggled.

"All right," Cloud said with a heave. "To the Honeybee Inn, I suppose."

*** * * * ***

"Hey! Is that a 'Member's Card' I see shining in your hot little hand?" 

Cloud nodded confidently as he presented his golden slip to the bouncer of the Honeybee Inn, who promptly stepped aside to let Cloud through. Cloud motioned for Aeris to wait outside as he took back the golden slip. 

"Please, come in," the bouncer continued. Cloud lingered for a moment, as he realized that the other men who had been swarming outside the Inn were beginning to ogle Aeris in his absence. But quicker than he could react, he noticed Aeris pulling a few delicate flowers from her vest, and began to sell the keepsakes to the men outside under the bouncer's watchful eye.

"…Hmm," he mumbled to himself, smiling at her initiative. "That's how you'll fool them." He then turned once more towards the strange brothel and, whispering a "Let's go!!" to his weary conscience, walked inside the facility.

The interior of the Honeybee Inn looked like something out of a twisted fantasy of glitter and despondency. Torn false gold tapestries and broken rubble littered the atrium, while the sounds of moans and—was it lightning?—emanated from the various rooms.

"Poo, I uh, mean, Sir…"

Cloud was shocked to find at waist-height a small woman tugging at his sleeve. But what trumped his original shock as soon as it had developed was the woman's attire. She was dressed up, from head to toe, in what was unmistakably a bee's outfit—with the posterior unusually accentuated. The glint of the stinger at its end wavered as the girl swayed back and forth impatiently, tugging at him again.

"Hurry…," she mumbled, shifting around uncomfortably as she tugged at him. It occurred to Cloud that the bee woman was as anxious to leave as he was, understandable from the droplets of sweat beading on her forehead and the stretch marks plastered on the ill-fitting costume of hers.

"Please choose a room," the woman finished in a pant, turning Cloud's attention to the decadent splendor about him once more. He realized that amidst the cluttered glamour there WERE a collection of doors, two of which had the sign 'OCCUPIED' clearly plastered across them.

"All right," Cloud said to the girl in an attempt to calm her down, and moved to one of the vacant rooms. She strutted behind him, twitching compulsively in her obvious impatience—almost unwilling to continue patronizing the plodding man. He was taking an unusually long time to choose his preference, far more than a usual member.

Cloud grasped the door handle of the room, pulling up a tag at the bottom that designated the room. At this, even the hardened warrior had to blush at the vulgarity that seemed to await him.

"All right," the woman said as Cloud halted at the door. "Now all we have to do is enter the room." Suddenly the woman seemed to halt and tense, her once impatient demeanor fading as she seemed to ponder as much as Cloud had. It took a while for Cloud to become cognizant of the reason for this—the fact that he was not going in alone.

A newfound dilemma crept into Cloud's head at this instant. _How am I supposed to get her—things—away from her? he wondered. He didn't want what she was offering him, for as many academic reasons as moral. But how was he supposed to ask for her unmentionables without coming off as some kind of perverted freak?_

"You're not going to have a change of heart now, are you?" the woman spoke up, becoming aware of Cloud's reluctance to enter.

"Don't make me repeat myself," he snapped defensively, still mulling over his options even as he entered.

"Oh, don't be angry with me…," the girl pleaded in a squeaky voice, cowering away from the imposing figure. _Geez, she thought, _this one's probably the violent type…__

"All right, please," the woman stated as Cloud pushed through the flimsy door and entered the room. Following behind him, the woman began to push off her Honey Bee costume, as being rid of the stuffy outfit was her only consolation for her services. Casting it off, she then stripped from her lingerie until she was at last fully undressed, and turned to her awaiting patron.

Who was, in that very moment, fixed upon something of an entirely different nature.

_It's like staring into a mirror of your soul, isn't it?_

_Hard to look away, but damned if you can understand it…_

At that moment, Cloud was staring into his own soul, made manifest before him by the blinding light. His countenance, his visage stared mildly back, scoffing slightly…

**_Hmm…? You…?_**

****

_What are you doing in a place like this?_

It was more fear than anything else, that drove the questions.

**_That's what I want to ask you. Should you be foolin' around here?_**

****

Reoccurring flashes, throbbing pain, manifesting itself physically as surely as the ghost before you.

**_You think problems will go away just thinkin' about them?_**

****

Why was he here? Was he truly running from it?

_Cut down…_

A last enveloping flash consumed Cloud Strife with an ever-widening blade…

"Oh no!"

And at last everything was clear.

"Help! Someone…! Hurry!"

**_You can't change anything just by sitting back and looking at it._**

****

_What are you saying?_

**_It's started moving._**

****

_What has?_

**_Wake up!_**

****

Unnatural sensations from a profoundly ethereal experience. Reality and fantasy meshing together in what seems so long like the finality of all things. Piteous that are those extracted before recognition. To be greeted to a consolation…

_…of rubbing._

Cloud winced and withdrew as he noticed his body was being poked and rubbed by uncomfortably nimble fingers. Withdrawing from the squishy sensations that assaulted his senses, he stammered quickly back into reality with a flash.

"Uh…OW…!!" he cried out as he realized what was being done to him. 

"Wake up!" Another slap was subsequently delivered to Cloud's body, agitating him further. "Wake up!"

Wrenching open his eyes, Cloud thrust back his assailant and sprung up on the large bed in his room. Expecting to see what should have been his 'companion' for the night, he was utterly shocked and horrified to have his eyes meet a burly fellow dressed in nothing but a pair of undergarments. The woman that he had been with earlier was standing aside, her costume obviously thrown back on in a rush.

Cloud's muscle-bound reviver, however, was in an ecstatic sort of mood, as he flopped back on the bed at the sight of Cloud's face. "Phew, I'm so relieved," he said, beaming from ear to ear.

Cloud tried to stand groggily, obviously shaken from the ordeal—and more. "Bubby!" the burly man cried as Cloud staggered up. "I heard you collapsed," he announced, revealing a tinge of real worry in his voice. 

Cloud was beginning to really see that there was something odd about this character, and began to stagger away as quickly as he could. As quickly as he tried, however, he tripped backward over the stinger of his would-be honeybee, causing the burly guy to gasp once more. "No, no, no," he advised severely. "Don't get so uptight."

"Huh?" came Cloud's only attempt at a response.

"Hmm…?" the burly man spoke as he helped Cloud up from the floor. Examining Cloud for a moment, he seemed to contemplate something that made the grin on his face appear wider than ever. "They say youth is so long but so short," he broke out while gripping Cloud's arm tightly. "Let's give this next one your best shot."

"The name's Mukki," by the way, the man introduced himself before making a quick exit just as a parade of honeybees entered the room. In less time than Cloud even thought possible, he was ushered out of the room with barely enough time to snag the article of lingerie that the honeybee had neglected to put on between her frantic screaming.

"This way, please," another honeybee chirped, funneling Cloud past a rickety sign that glowed 'The Group Room' into a glittering white spa.

"Wow…," Cloud murmured, examining what had to be one of the cleanest environments he'd stepped into in years. While Aeris' house alone after all his travels had been stunning, this was downright pristine.

"Because of the inconvenience with your last room, we thought it prudent to make it up for you, poo…I mean, sir…" the honeybee explained, trussing Cloud up with a few brushes of her stinger.

"Shall we begin?" she queried. Receiving no immediate response, she continued, "I guess since you chose this room, that would mean that you…"

She hesitated. "Hate being lonely?"

"I'm used to being alone," he snapped frankly. Cloud was intrigued at what was in store for him.

"All right, all right," the girl assented, backing off from the obvious moody figure. "C'mon, everyone's waiting."

"Everyone?"Cloud blurted as an ominous feeling precluded what was to come.

"Here they are," the woman heralded the warrior's latent fears by presenting a horde of tight, underwear clad, muscle-bound men lead by Mukki himself. 

"All right, everyone."

"One, two! One, two!

"Yeah!!"

"One, two! One, two!"

Mukki straightened himself up as presentably as he could, trying as hard as he might to maintain the impending smile creeping its way back into his cheeks. "Wassup!!" he shouted, despite the fact he was only a hair's breadth away from Cloud.

Cloud could obviously see that Mukki was trying desperately to keep himself composed as the smile etched itself into his and his compatriots' faces. 

"Oh man…" he thought out loud, not caring about wracking the nerves of the pseudo-squad before him. "What should I do?"

_What kind of a question is that? _he shot right back at himself. "I've got no time to mess around with you," Cloud spat at the newcomers with rancor. "Outta my way!"

From this display of aggression, however, Mukki was unperturbed. Despite his anxiousness from the get-go, he apparently knew how to handle those not friendly to his type of services.

"Don't be so embarrassed!" he chastised between pants. "Loosen up, bubby!"

Giving a great heave, he turned Cloud's blood to ice as he boomed, "Let's wash off all our sweat and dirt together!"

"WASSUP!!" all the men boomed as they converged on Cloud amidst his veritable screams of protest.

Cloud tried to cut himself off from all feeling as he felt a swarm of what could have been considered 'playful' touching as he fought off the urge to slaughter the lot of the invaders.

_C'mon, keep a level head…_

"Bubby, you're the intimate type, huh!!"

_Please…_

"Wow!! Would you look at that!"

Trying immensely hard to not think about the state he had been placed in, he felt himself ushered into the jacuzzi at the far end of the spa. Slowly he was coaxed in—ending up in a huddle of mass that could only be considered an abomination to his senses.

"Isn't bathing great? It soothes your heart." Mukki said aloud as he stretched as far as the small space could sustain, suffocating Cloud even further in the ordeal he still could not believe was happening.

Mukki turned his head lopsidedly to Cloud's after a brief pause. "How is it, bubby!?" he exclaimed expectantly. "Feels good, huh?"

The world swirled for Cloud again, although this time unfortunately fully grounded in realism. "I don't feel good," he complained with a hint of nausea. "Let me out..."

Mukki nudged him happily as he consoled, "You'll get used to it. Try counting to ten."

"Ten…," Cloud began. "Nine…"

"Hey bubby, how old are you?" Mukki asked while squirming to meet Cloud's face, a scrunched ball of tightly closed eyes that visibly shuddered at the undulating bodies around him.

"Eight…twenty-one…," Cloud answered between his breaths.

"You're less than half my age," Mukki taunted playfully. "I'm so jealous."

"So how 'bout it…?" Mukki pressed on, seeing if he had made his pitch. "Do you wanna join my 'Young bubby's' group?"

"Seven…six…maybe in another life," Cloud replied coldly as he shattered the rapport of ambience that Mukki had attempted to establish.

"Well, if that's how you feel…," Mukki trailed off, "too bad. We have a trip planned at a cabin out in the country."

"Five…four…three…two…one…," Cloud finished counting. "Alright, that's ten. I'm gettin' out."

Standing up, he knocked aside the pile of men while Mukki protested behind him. "Why don't you stick around and play a bit? Daddy's so lonely…" 

Reluctantly, though, the rest of the guys emptied the pool and lined up once more just as Cloud had finished dressing himself once more.

"Bubby!" Mukki cried belatedly as Cloud began to leave. "This is important to me."

Before Cloud even realized what he was doing, Mukki suddenly reached down and ripped off his briefs with a sickening rip, leaving him totally in the buff. 

"Here's a memento of our time together!" he cheered as he handed him the sweaty article of clothing, which almost made Cloud gag at its very sight.

With nary a word else, Mukki led the group out in a streaking blur, leaving the shaken Cloud with only the rag and the lingerie. 

"This is SOME underwear…," he muttered, examining the two fabrics. "I'm supposed to wear this…?" he mused in disbelief. 

"Well, if it's to save Tifa…," he resolved once more, "I guess there's no way around."

Cloud straightened himself up, and exited the room as quietly as he could. His first instinct was just to bolt out of there as quickly as he could, but his opinion changed as he glanced towards the back and a secluded door that left no questions to what it was.

_One more thing…_

Striding through the door of the Honeybee Inn's dressing room with little fanfare, Cloud noticed the assortment of chemicals and perfumes utilized in the allure of the glamorous attraction. Creeping up as nonchalantly as he could and swallowing his pride in the same stark repetition that had consumed him for the last 24 hours, he squeaked out a request.

"I have a favor to ask of you," he said to a half-dressed Honeybee on the nearest stool, who was completely absorbed in her own appearance. "Can you put makeup on me too?"

"Sure, honey," the girl replied as she reached over and mechanically began to apply the makeup, her eyes not darting much from the mirror. Apparently not noticing exactly who Cloud was, she asked absently, "Just put on your fingernail polish, huh? You've got to spread it out, girl."

Cloud considered nodding or saying something, then thought better of it as more makeup was applied. Gloss, lipstick, blush, it appeared that more WAS more here, regardless of who the girls were.

"And that should…," the girl started as she applied the last amount of glitter to Cloud's face when she whirled around to check her handiwork. 

That was when she realized Cloud was a man. "Oh…my…"

Not daring to look in the mirror or stick around for the ensuing chaos, Cloud righted himself and made a hasty retreat.

*** * * * ***

"Uh, sir!!" the bouncer of the Honeybee Inn spoke hesitantly. It had taken him a brief period of time to ascertain Cloud's sex thanks to his new facial embellishments, and it still confused him to slowing his usually authorative and rapid speech. 

"It's almost closing time…," he drawled out as he tilted his head for a second view of Cloud's exiting face. "So, please remember any personal belongings."

_Only one I'm missing, _Cloud thought before he stopped himself short. That wasn't his usual way of thinking.

_But then again,_ he conceded, _after spending your time in a jacuzzi with a group of near-naked body-builders, seeing a non-anthropomorphic girl is nothing short of a relief…_

The nearest girl who fit that description was busy auctioning off the rest of her flowers to the crowd of people who readily snapped them up for far above the asking price. As she made her final sale, she caught a glimpse of Cloud from afar, and stomached the urge to burst out laughing as she forced out a call.

"Hey, Cloud!!" she cried. The men scattered as they heard the call and saw the figure approach—some from typical fear that Cloud always radiated, others from any guy crazy enough to put on makeup in such a place.

"So, I see you were productive," she observed and giggled as she jogged up to him. Ignoring the jab, Cloud got straight to the point.

"It's time," he said. Aeris turned serious on an edge just as he had.

"Right," she agreed. "Let's hope for the best."

The two joined up and headed for the Clothing Store.

"I assume you made some cash off those fools out there, right?"

"Oh, yeah!" she concurred, revealing a sack of cash that she tossed to Cloud from behind her back. "Except for your friend, Johnny. I gave him a flower and a bit of money to get him back on his feet."

Cloud uttered an audible groan and hurried on.

*** * * * ***

"Aren't you going to change?"

_I still don't know how to get into this thing…_

"Okay…I'm ready."

_Doesn't help that I'm a terrible liar._

"Don't worry, I'll help you."

_Oh, please, leave me my last shred of dignity…_

"Oh! It's beautiful! And all real silk!"

_Depends on your point of view, doesn't it?_

"Phew…this sword is heavy, though! And it's tied right in! Cloud, help me prop it up."

_Never thought I'd see the weapon in THAT state…_

"Okay, now let me wrap you in. Cloud! You're going to have to loosen up a little!

_Sorry, I prefer maintaining my perceptions of my semblance of sanity._

"We laced the lingerie around the…other fabric. Make a few tufts leak out here and there, and it's bound to spark interest. Hold still…"

_I pray that you washed that other fabric—a lot._

"And now for the Cologne that the lady gave you. It's like perfume, but for men."

_What's the difference?_

"It goes without saying that it's a lot stronger…"

_Figures…_

"Oh, don't flinch! I didn't mean to hit your eyes!"

_Is this necessary? C'mon, I had two cleanings today—although I feel a whole lot dirtier after the second._

"Wrap it all up…"

_Hey…that IS tight! Ugh…_

"Let me straighten up your hair, Cloud—the wig's got to fit on your head, you know."

_Hope you cleaned that up as well…that place was rank._

"And we wrap it up all with a tiara…"

_Are those needles? I'm glad I'm wearing a wig!_

"Done!"

Aeris waved her hand outside the booth to signal the two expectant tailors, who were awaiting the results of this interesting experiment.

"They're waiting for you, Miss Cloud." Aeris took her resigned guinea pig by the hand and led him out to the audience beyond.

"Hmm, not bad," the shop owner commented, nodding his head. "This may be a new business for me."

"Yeah, you're right," his daughter agreed, as proud of her old man as she had ever been. "Should we try it?" 

Her father gave her an optimistic look. "Thanks for showing us something new," the girl said happily at the outcome. "My father's got his motivation back now. So the dress is on the house."

Cloud only had one thing to say. "Can I have a mirror?"

"Sure, sure," the shop owner said. "There's a full-sized one, right over here…"

And there 'she' was. Cloud Strife, remade a transvestite by a mysterious flower girl for the sake of his childhood friend. Cloud's face was totally devoid of its original flavor, the once roughly defined cheekbones toned out of recognition by blush and glitter while the rest of the makeup rendered him an albino pale. The silken kimono hid and lifted the manly physique while the sword, acting as placeholder, held Cloud stark still while ornate trappings burst forth from the item like curved sparklers—also serving to once more obscure the man behind the mask. The wig matched his own hair color and was styled, parted, and made into pigtails. Topped with a sparkling tiara and a sexy fragrance, the allure was so convincing that even Cloud had to silently admit…

_Hey, I would've fooled me…_

Taking a few wobbly and haphazard steps, Cloud clunked noisily across the floor in a manner that, while perhaps suited to his normal demeanor, was entirely inappropriate considering his current attire.

Aeris chuckled. "Walk more nicely like…this," she advised, performing a light series of steps from heel to toe. "Miss Cloud," she added with a smirk.

"What do you mean 'nicely'?" Cloud inquired, disregarding the latter half of her comment. He attempted to replicate her movements, which, while an improvement from his first movements, still ended up being less than desirable.

Aeris, however, either didn't notice or didn't care about the technicalities of the movements. "Oh you're so cute, Miss Cloud," she said sincerely, gushing over him as if he were a kewpie doll.

She also seemed to notice her own modest garments, and frowned as the comparison to Cloud's newer clothing struck her. "Aaah, I want one," she pouted. "Do you have one that'll look good on me too?"

The owner's daughter picked up an off-the-rack, lime-green affair. "How's this?" she asked.

"How about that one?" her father said almost simultaneously, pointing out a butterscotch colored frilly number.

"Father, what are you talking about? This one's much better."

"No, what are you talking about? This one."

"I want THIS one."

Aeris grabbed her own pick of the dresses from the rack, and scurried off into the dressing room, leaving both father and daughter aghast at the choice.

"I'm going to go change," she announced, adding, "No peeking!" to the two idling men.

In the span of a minute or so, she reappeared, dressed in a crimson red flamenco simply draped over her original outfit. Not content with a mere change of clothing, she had also untied her braid, letting her long hair hang loose and flail outwards. She performed a customary twirl, and beamed at the three onlookers.

"So? How do I look?" came the expectant, inevitable question.

Cloud merely sighed and shook his head in depression.

"Oh, you're no fun!" Aeris pouted.

*** * * * ***

The entrance to the Don Corneo's abode was dimming its lanterns as Cloud and Aeris began their approach to the wretched place. Spying them as they stepped into the waning glare, the doorman recognized Aeris and noticed her 'friend' approaching.

"Damn!!" he exclaimed as he spotted Cloud. Before Cloud could react in any dangerous manner, he continued, "Your friend's hot, too!"

"Come in, come in!!" he greeted them, calling inside, "Two ladies coming through!" 

The double doors widened, and Cloud and Aeris stepped into the lavish vestibule of the interior. Unlike the haphazard design of the Honeybee Inn, this was decorated with actual items of extreme worth. Still, the entire design came off as indulgent and ultimately tacky. 

The observation was etched even on Cloud's features, despite his deluge of makeup.

"Hey, ladies," a suave and sly appearing man welcomed Cloud and Aeris, who was trying his best to put on an agreeable face. "I'll go and let the Don know you're here. Wait here. Don't go wandering around…," his voice trailed off as he slipped into a side corridor, leaving Cloud and Aeris to their own devices.

"Now's our chance," Aeris whispered as the door shut with a click. "Let's find Tifa."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Cloud responded, glancing over the myriad of intersecting doors and hallways.

"Well…how about checking this?" she said, picking up a small black book that the man had left behind at the receptionist's desk. Flipping it open, it revealed a log of all the activities conducted in the household, legitimate…and otherwise.

"Well, that seems to be a bit naïve of him, doesn't it?" Cloud mused as he skimmed over the book for any hint of where Tifa could be. After a minute or so of looking, he scrunched his face in frustration. "Her name's not in here," he said.

"Well, she might not have used her real name," Aeris suggested. "What about an alias?"

"Well…oh, I've got something!" Cloud said, his eyes lighting up. "It's Angelica Jules—her name from her Shinra ID!"

"Where is she?" Aeris asked.

Cloud stopped. "The bondage and torture chamber," he read solemnly. "The second floor, third door down."

"Wow…," Aeris murmured. "Let's hurry."

Sneaking up the stairs as quietly as they could, the two turned through the third door into an archaically styled dungeon chamber, with a long and narrow staircase leading down into the dank underworld beneath.

"Tifa?" Aeris called as she began to descend, while Cloud became muted as he began to wonder what Tifa was doing in a place like this—and perhaps even more at how she would react to his appearance.

As he and Aeris descended, the outlines of the dungeon became more defined: a large outstretched table with ropes dangling on the ends, chains strewn about from hanging positions, and overturned flasks of ointment and alcohol dotting the room.

All very disturbing in their own rights. So, Cloud seemed to beg the question again: where was…

_Tifa!_

Recognizing his childhood friend at a mere glance, Cloud pulled away and ducked into the corner, though not without her noticing. She stepped slowly towards the shrouded Cloud, when Aeris stepped out into the light and introduced herself.

"…Tifa?" she spoke up, approaching her cautiously. Her reluctance was amplified as the odd state that Tifa was in caught her eye. The sapphire-blue 'dress' that she wore was barely covering her unmentionables—it was provocative to the limit of shock. Even Cloud found himself ogling the sight from the darkness unbidden. He could scarcely believe it was her.

"Nice to meet you," Aeris continued, turning the still silent Tifa into the apprehensive one. "I'm Aeris Gainsborough. Cloud's told me a lot about you."

"…And you are?" Tifa spoke for the first time. She visibly contorted her eyes, as a spark of recollection was beginning to well up within her. "Hey," she began with a gasp, "you're the one with Cloud in the park…"

"Right," Aeris confirmed, edging closer, "with Cloud."

Tifa absorbed this information soberly as she attempted to put the pieces together in her mind. "Oh…."

"Don't worry," Aeris interrupted her silent contemplation. "We just met. It's nothing." The words carried an air of reassuring, but ultimately fallacious tone.

"What do you mean, 'Don't worry'…about what?" Tifa asked rhetorically as she recovered from the emotion that had begun to slip out of her shell. As Aeris began to speak again, Tifa continued, "No, don't misunderstand. Cloud and I grew up together. Nothing more."

Unconvinced but satisfied for the moment, Aeris seemed to remember at that exact second that Cloud was still lurking in the shadows, watching their every move. Feeling a pang of guilt, she said thoughtfully, "Poor Cloud, having to stand here and listen to both of us call him nothing."

She stopped short briefly, turning back into the darkness away from the puzzled stare of Tifa. "Right, Cloud?" she called into the darkness.

Emerging from the shadow in the deathly cold way that made Tifa know it was he immediately, Cloud cast his eyes down as he moved between Tifa and Aeris.

"Cloud?" Tifa's recognition dissipated before her eyes as she struggled to grapple with the Cloud she saw standing before her. Distrusting her eyes again, she examined him closely. 

It was only when she lifted his head to hers, and looked into the unearthly glow of his eyes that she was sure once more. "Cloud!?" she cried, now more out of shock than sake of inquiry. 

The femininity of Cloud in its full glory was presented to Tifa, stunning her with its utter convincingness with Cloud's poise. Raising an eyebrow and her voice to profound levels, she cried, "Why are you dressed like that? And what are you doing here?"

She stopped shortly, before rambling on again. "Forget that, what happened to you after the fall!? Are you hurt!?"

"Hey, give me a chance to explain." The low and sullen voice emanated from Cloud, hushing Tifa and allowing him to take relief in the reunion. 

"I'm dressed like this…because there was no other way to get in here," Cloud explained. "I'm all right. Aeris helped me out."

"Oh, Aeris did…," Tifa began before Cloud's stare moved her silent once more.

"Tifa, explain," Cloud stated anxiously. Though as delicate a command as could be, it was a command nonetheless, and Tifa knew it. "What are you doing in a place like this?"

"Yeah, ummm…," Tifa mumbled, her eyes darting fervently as Cloud scrutinized her.

"Ahem!" Aeris spoke up, bringing attention to herself. "I'll just plug my ears," she announced, slinking into the shadows to give them privacy for the divulgences to come.

"I'm glad you're okay," Tifa said waveringly, her tenderness doing little to belie the worry that had come from Cloud's fall.

"Thanks," he replied, softening a bit on his own. "What happened?"

"When we got back from the Number 5 reactor, there was this weird man," Tifa began, her tone indicating exactly how 'weird' he actually was. "So Barret caught him and squeezed some information out of him."

"That's when the Don's name popped up," Cloud supplemented, following well so far.

"Right, Don Corneo," she detailed. "Barret told me to leave the lech alone…"

Tifa stopped briefly, as if she didn't want to think of the possibilities residing in her own mind. "But something's been bothering me."

"I see. So you wanted to get the story straight from Corneo's mouth." It was predictable of Tifa, Cloud admitted to himself, but all too disturbing.

"So I made it here," Tifa went on, "but now I'm in a bind. Corneo is looking for a bride. Every day, he gets three girls, chooses one of them, and then…"

Tifa shifted uncomfortably in her revealing garments. "…and, well...," she struggled, before shaking her head. "Anyway, I have to be the girl…or I'm out for tonight."

"Sorry…," came a high-pitched voice from the shadows, followed by Aeris with a guilty expression lining her brows. "But I overheard..."

Cloud and Tifa had no time to react as Aeris stated quickly, "If you know the three girls, there's no problem, right?"

Tifa seemed to ponder this, and noticed Aeris' less than modest outfit as well as her own. "I guess so," she assented, "but…"

"We have two here, right?" Aeris continued. 

"No, Aeris!" Cloud interjected harshly, stunning the flower girl as much as he could within his confining kimono. "I can't have you get involved."

"Oh?" she queried rhetorically with a glare. "So it's all right for Tifa to be in danger?"

"No, I don't want Tifa in…," Cloud started shortly before noticing Aeris and Tifa already beginning to ascend the stairs, signifying his defeat.

"Is it all right?" Tifa asked concernedly.

"I grew up in the slums," Aeris stated, hefting her staff over her shoulder. A query of her own crossed her mind as she did so. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," Tifa answered warmly, giving Aeris a deep smile. "Thanks, Ms. Gainsborough."

"Call me Aeris," she said, returning the smile.

"Hey!!" Both girls and their cross-dressing companion turned towards the location of the voice.

"It's time, ladies," the suave man called down into the chambers. "The Don is waiting!"

He grumbled. "I told ya not to wander around…I tell ya, women nowadays…," he scoffed. "Hurry up, will ya!"

"I probably don't need to ask, but the other girl is…," Cloud began apprehensively, hoping to see less than expectant looks. "Me…right?"

Tifa smirked. "You're right, there was no need…"

"…to ask," Aeris finished.

Another sigh from Cloud dissipating was the herald of the trio, as Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa ascended the stairs and walked into the chambers for the inspection of the Don Corneo.

"All right, ladies! Line up in front of the Don!"

Tifa and Aeris reacted immediately to the command, but Cloud displayed cognitive lag again before he lined up in turn. He still had difficultly composing and acclimating himself, and this was going to be the big test.

The 'examination room' was another bastion of tasteless décor. The refuse of idolatry and indulgence was stronger here than in any other place. At its center was a dominatingly large mahogany desk, covered in velvet. And situated comfortably behind the desk, was the one and only—Don Corneo himself.

"Hmmm! Good, splendid!" the Don, a rotund ball of a man and possessed of incredibly short stature, shouted as he bounded onto his desk with an anticipative glee. Decked in a lavish robe that seemed to cover everything except his genitalia—which stuck out prominently, to Cloud's disgust—his eyes darted greedily to the three candidates for his pleasurement tonight.

_You know, maybe, just maybe, he's compensating for something…_, Cloud joked inwardly to himself as he surveyed the truncated features of both the man and his manhood before him. Suddenly, the overblown décor didn't seem too unfathomable anymore.

Hopping off his desk, the Don approached Aeris with a stalk, causing the flower girl to bolt upright in a maintaining of her composure. "Now, let's see…," he rambled aloud. "Which girl should I choose? Hmm---hmm---!"

He strode up next to Cloud, peeking in at the neophyte transvestite's face. "This one?" he rasped, breathing heavily in his face. Cloud turned away instinctively to the side, frustrating the Don a little, but prompting him to move on to Tifa.

"Or this one?" he mused, looking Tifa up and down, trying to catch a glimpse under the skimpy dress. After a bit more insight, he turned back to get a better look at Cloud. 

Each time Don Corneo viewed Cloud from a different angle, Cloud in turn wrenched away, both trying to perpetuate the gesture as one of shyness while trying to hide his more 'defined' attributes.

"Woo-hoo, I've made up my mind!" Don Corneo announced, breaking his glance from the constant dance of heads with Cloud. "My choice for tonight is…"

Don Corneo reached out…and took Cloud's hand with a vigorous force.

"This healthy looking girl!"

Both Aeris and Tifa were stunned. Not only at the fact that Cloud had been chosen—but that he had been chosen by the Don over them. At the time, neither of them could help but feel a bit envious.

It was Cloud's reaction that took the cake, however. "Wa, wait a sec!" he protested without thinking, before pitching his voice in short fashion. "I mean, uh, please wait a moment!" he rephrased to the eager Don.

"Woo-hoo!" the Don exclaimed once more as he bounded and tugged fiercely at the sleeve of Cloud's kimono, nearly ripping it. "I love chickies who play hard to get! Yeowza!"

The Don satisfiedly turned to his men, dismissing them simply by stating, "You can have the other ones!"

"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" Cloud shuddered at the eager men waiting to claim Aeris and Tifa, and trembled as he tried to maintain his cover.

_Aeris still has her staff…and Tifa's always lethally armed, I guess…_

He grimaced. _Still…I hope they'll be alright._

"Well, then, shall we go my pretty?" Don Corneo asked his new 'companion'. He lifted open a drapery, and led Cloud into the master bedroom, neither person fully comprehending exactly what was to ensue.

*** * * * ***

"Ahh, we're finally alone," the Don sighed contentedly, flopping down onto the bed in another characteristically over-the-top venue that was his quarters. Except that this contained all the sleaze from the Honeybee Inn and then some, as to suit the Don's other appetites.

"All right, pussycat…," he growled at the disturbed Cloud. "Come to daddy!"

Cloud approached slowly, careful to keep his boots concealed under his kimono. The Don seemed even more aroused by the reluctance. "You're so cute, I never get tired of looking at you," he complimented. "Do you like me too?"

Cloud didn't seem to know what kind of a response to give. "Of course!" he forced, not thinking of anything else.

"You sure do know how to make a guy feel good!" the Don yelled in response. Obviously, he wasn't that tough to please. "Then wh…what do you want to DO?"

Cloud racked his mind for an idea or another to try to probe Don Corneo for information. "Whatever YOU want," Cloud choked out as he tried to dislocate himself before finishing, "…daddy."

"Oh, man!" Don Corneo squealed as though he were fit to burst. "I can't stand it! All right, then…"

He puckered his lips. "Give me a kiss! A KISS!!"

Cloud sighed at this predicament for the final time.

_Well, at least I know my limits now. _He couldn't do this anymore.

"Nope, can't do that…," he drawled, wiping the smirk from Corneo's face as abruptly as it had come.

"Why?" an indignant query burst from a newly distraught Corneo, shot down at last. "WHY? WHY?"

"Because…," Cloud started before taking a breath.

"Because I'm gonna have to use that mouth of yours to give me some information!!" Cloud bellowed, freeing himself from his silken shackles. With a flurry of rips and tears, he shorn himself of his kimono, revealing his uniform as well as liberate his massive weapon from the sheath of tapestries. A few wipes of his face and the man's man, Cloud Strife, stood in full glory before the aghast Don Corneo.

"A man!?" Corneo stuttered. "You tricked me!!" he screamed sorrowfully, his night now assuredly turning for the worse. 

"Somebody get in here NOW!!" he called angrily into the adjacent hallway.

"Unfortunately, no one'll be comin' to help," was the only reply the poor Don received, before both Aeris and Tifa, now outfitted in their traditional clothes entered the Don's chamber.

Don Corneo whimpered. "You're the ones from before! Wh…what the hell's going on!"

"Shut up," Tifa ordered him, "we're asking the questions now." Grabbing him roughly, she shoved the small man onto the bed violently, slamming his body against the headboard.

Tifa appeared grateful to be freed from her restraint as much as Cloud had as she relished her interrogation. "What did your assistants find out? Talk! If you don't tell us…"

Cloud raised his knee onto the bed and leveled his sword suggestively at the Don. "…I'll cut them off," he threatened.

"No! Not that!" Corneo squealed. "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

"So...talk," Tifa continued. 

The Don hesitated, then confessed, "I made 'em find out where the man with the gun-arm was. But that's what I was ordered to do."

"By who?" Tifa asked.

"No--!" Corneo exclaimed again. "If I told you that, I'd be killed!"

"Talk!" Tifa shouted at him as she smacked his face harshly. "If you don't tell us…"

"…I'll rip them off," Aeris stated flatly, knocking the Don off his feet as she raised her leg threateningly just as Cloud had done. 

"Waaaaah--!" Corneo screeched at this newest threat, not comprehending or caring that it was virtually the same one. "It was Heidegger of Shinra! Heidegger, the head of Public Safety Maintenance!"

"The head of Public Safety Maintenance?" Cloud repeated.

"Did you say the Shinra!?" Tifa demanded with renewed vigor. "What are they up to!? Talk! If you don't tell us…"

Tifa leaned as closely as she could before rasping, "I'll smash them."

"…You're serious, aren't you…," the Don whispered; now unabashedly cowering from the three interrogators. "…ohboy, ohboy, ohboy." His words began to rush and flow into each other and his tongue became hoarse and dry.

"…I'm not fooling around here either, you know," he stated. "Shinra's trying to crush a small rebel group called AVALANCHE, and want to infiltrate their hideout."

He took a beat for emphasis. "And they're really going to crush them…literally. By breaking the support holding the plate up above them."

As soon as the words were spoken, the color was sapped from Tifa's face, as though all life were fading from her. "Break the support!?" she gasped.

"You know what's going to happen? The plate'll go PING and everything's gonna go BAMMM!!!" the Don explained while clapping his hands to his ignorant onomatopoeia. "I heard their hideout's in the Sector 7 slums…I'm just glad it's not here in Sector 6."

"They're going to wipe out the Sector 7 slums!?" Tifa said in horror, diminished and terrified of what was to come. She looked at Cloud with the most vulnerable and pleading look he had ever seen her give, and asked him, "Cloud, will you come with me to Sector 7?"

"Of course, Tifa," he said. He didn't think much of it now, but when he would look back later he would wonder why this was the first point of when he was doing something without money as an end, and wonder at the catalyst. 

The three all stood to leave, and were just at the foot of the bed when Corneo spoke up. "Just a second!" 

"Shut up!" Cloud shouted at the annoyance.

Apparently relieved by the lack of proximity, Corneo said loudly, "No, wait, it'll only take a second. How do you think scum like me feels when they babble on about the truth?"

He continued to ramble. "One: they've pretty much given up on life. Two: they're sure they'll win. Or three…"

"They don't know what the hell's going on," Cloud interjected, turning away.

"Close, but no cigar!" Don Corneo exclaimed. 

And before anybody could react, he pulled a lever on the bed, yanking open a trap door and sending Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris all plummeting to the sewers that resided below.

"Let's hope APS is hungry...," the Don Corneo snarled.

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: All rights to Final Fantasy VII, all respective parties, and virtually anything I write about remotely related to said topics are copyright of Squaresoft. : (

Final Fantasy VII

Chapter 6: The Tyranny of Heaven

If the damned denizens of Hell weren't so selfishly concerned with their own pain, maybe they would be able to see how great their world actually was. Existence was what one made of it—and the privileged were fortunate enough to realize that to rule in Hell was to be in Heaven.

When the indulgence of Heaven falls short, subjugate to bring about balance. When the pillars of flesh begin to crumble and groan, simply bring Heaven a little higher. When the buckle of the Noise begins to waft upwards, simply drown it out with the music of the angels.

The residents of Heaven would forever rule those of Hell. The good would hold dominion over evil in the bend of the universe's arc. And while the state of the good was no more than a mere tyranny, it was a just tyranny nonetheless.

So existed the same justice in the tyranny of the strong over the weak. The President Shinra attested to that fact daily. His life of luxury was no burden for one destined for it. And with his velour suit of ruby red, polished marble architecture, rich succulent meals, alluring music, and pristine penthouse and office atop the pinnacle of Midgar itself, he would have to say he was pretty well-suited for the job.

And after all, the people deserved their fate if they refused to fight it. What other choice remained but to succumb to it? Even he knew how to take pleasure in the simpler things, and his trip to Wall Market scant hours ago was proof of that.

Alas, it was time for another lesson in domination. "How are the preparations going?" the President of Shinra rasped from across his desk to the attentive employees beyond.

"Ha, ha, ha!!" was the guffawed reply from a man very similar to the President in build. He, however, was covered in unkempt facial that frizzed outwards and was built up in massive full military uniform. Between all the medals and adornments stacked onto the chest of the man, all awarded blindly and carelessly for the sloppiest of performances was a tag that simply stated 'Head of Public Safety Maintenance'.

"Smoothly, very smoothly!" Heidegger, Head of Public Safety Maintenance assured. He smirked as he boasted, "I assigned the Turks to this." The President nodded with approval.

"President!! Are we really going to do this?" an outburst arose from the other side of the room. Swiveling his head slowly, the President glanced over at the opposite figure, a poised blue-suited man with a long flowing mane of raven hair complemented with a goatee. 

The President remaining silent, the man continued, this time more cautiously. "Simply destroy a group with only a few members…"

"What's the problem, Reeve?" President Shinra demanded as he gave his full attention for the first time. He raised his eyebrow as he pressed the man. "You want out?"

President Shinra lifted himself out of his chair and edged as close as he could to the stammering Reeve, who seemed to be trembling with emotion at every step. "…No," Reeve assented at last as President Shinra tightened the range so that their breaths could be felt by one another.

"But, as head of the Urban Development Department, I have been involved in the building and running of Midgar," Reeve asserted in an attempt to persuade a rationalization. "That's why…"

"Reeve, you should flush those personal problems in the morning!" Heidegger interjected with a derisive snort, arching his back in a disgusting pose and laughing at the futility of his objection.

Reeve stopped short, noting that he seemed to be completely written off at this point. He reached for straws. "The mayor's against this anyway…"

"Mayor?" Heidegger exclaimed, now in perfect shock at such a flimsy argument. "He just sits in his building all day feeding his face! You still call that a mayor?"

Heidegger seemed to have had enough, and gave a satisfied salute to the President on this note. "Now if you'll excuse me sir!" he bellowed, marching out of the office.

Reeve just stood there, oblivious and shattered. He gathered his wits to go after the interfering Heidegger, but as he moved to leave the President restrained him with his arm.

"You're tired," he observed, noting Reeve's wrinkled features and haggard stance under the weight of his burdens. "Why don't you take a couple of days off and go somewhere," he advised.

Reeve nodded slowly. Turning to the door, he slunk outside the thick walls and made his way down the levels, leaving only President Shinra alone in his splendor.

"We'll destroy Sector 7 and report that AVALANCHE did it," Shinra plotted, smirking as he imagined the results of what was to come. "Then we'll send in the rescue operation care of Shinra, Inc…Heh, heh, heh…this is perfect."

The air of the city deadened slightly as dusk began to fall on the cover of Midgar.

*** * * * ***

And the air was the deadest of all at the pit of the bowels of Midgar's sewers, a stench hanging for a lifetime even below the untouchable slums. This wasn't untouchable, it was unbearable.

So Cloud Strife first noticed as he jolted out of his second fall of the week from the sludge caking his body. The fall had perhaps been kinder, as the fall from the slums could only go so far—but the care provided in his recovery had been infinitely worse.

He didn't know what had seeped its way into his mouth, but his gag reflex was kicking in at the foreign substance, causing him to kneel and hack at the disgusting material. As he underwent the throes of nauseation that almost (but only almost) made him want to return to the cross-dressing antics of before, he scarcely heard another voice in the same agony as he.

Stumbling over to the faint, delicate coughs he wandered until he actually tripped over the person, sending him to the floor once more and eliciting a groan from the other. As he looked over, he found that he did not even recognize the person—so covered in the dredge of muck that they were scarcely unrecognizable. Cloud saw the same lack of realization in the other, as he realized he must have looked the same way.

"You alright?" Cloud asked, letting the person know it was him.

"Yeah," sighed out the response, letting Cloud know that the person to which he was speaking was Aeris. She wiped off the sludge as best she could and wrung out the drain water, stirring Cloud to do the same. 

As they made their feeble attempts to cleanse themselves again that day, they also heard the movements of another at the other side of the dank passage from which they had plummeted within. Cloud dragged his tired frame over to Tifa's, who was just clearing the last of the slime's bulk from her hair. 

"You alright?" Cloud asked the same question to the ruffled fighter.

"Man!" she replied in exclamation, not really taking her attention from their newest predicament. "This is terrible."

Indeed, in Cloud's mind, his folly had ended them down here. Entertaining the swine Corneo and his devious queries had only ended in disaster. He grimaced and cursed his own weakness.

"Well, the worst is over…," Aeris offered in consolation as she noticed the almost imperceptible vibes of Cloud's anguish.

The end of this statement was punctuated by a loud rumble and a deep groan that seemed to pry at the frame of the sewers. Aeris glanced around nervously at the bad luck and fumbled for her rod, bringing it closer to her cautiously. 

"Maybe not…," she whispered, followed by an even louder groan from the depths of the sewer that escalated as a creature in the distance became more and more distinct amidst the shadows and waning light. 

Tifa's eyes widened as she watched the creature draw closer while her mouth tightened to form a single word from within.

"Fuck…"

Cloud jerked his head towards her as she spoke that last word, and it slowly came to dawn on him that she was expecting this. "You know what this is!" he shouted in a voice that almost sounded like an accusation.

"Yes…," Tifa said, her fixation rendering her oblivious to Cloud's tone. "It's called APS—Aquatic Patrol Serpent. It's a personal pet of Don Corneo. It deals with any…refuse he sends down here."

"Damn," Cloud said as he grabbed his sword up and readied alongside with Aeris. "How's your equipment?"

"Everything from the last battle," Tifa answered. "But aside from some new supplies, that's it."

"Okay," Cloud said. "Let's just weather this out."

A silence emerged that pervaded the deadness of the sewers, and an eerily calm atmosphere asserted its place over the three intruders of the bottom rung of Midgar. 

And more silent still the entire sewer fell for any number of eternities, each one lingering within the three beings' souls to fill them with any number of terrors and indecisions. The peril was all too close and so very far away…

So the silence ended when a shockwave reinitiated the Noise of Midgar in full effect. A brief pause, then a silent rush that rose quickly above the other sounds, heralding a serpentine tidal wave at Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris.

The three were blasted with a tremendous force as the wave swept them off their feet, hurtling each of them into the wall and saturating them with the sticky substances that they had just been rid of. 

As Cloud slumped to the floor below, he wrenched his head upwards to see a titanic lumbering beast amidst the cataclysmic waves. With a sickly pale-green skin caused by years of deprivation from sunlight and a smell that was abysmally noticeable even amongst the stench of the sewers, it was a monstrosity in the truest sense of the word. It flailed madly in a blind fury; summoning waves so intense that even it looked strained and spent from the inflictions, not regarding the three morsels tossed in the tumultuous gale. It was a beast seemingly designed only to destroy, not considering the danger to itself or exhibiting any other trait by natural creatures.

And the intent seemed to be paying off. Cloud briefly considered summoning Bolt, then thought better of it when he realized the spell would serve to electrocute him and his friends, for the soupy water could still conduct electricity through all it touched.

"Ice!"

The monster's limbs abruptly began to slow and its joints visibly stiffened as cold freezing magic worked its way through the serpent's limbs. It only had enough time to utter a weak roar of agony before it was completely overwhelmed by the force of the spell.

"Tifa!" Cloud and Aeris exclaimed, seeing that she had not forsaken all of her previous trappings. Her materia glinted while she gasped from the intensity of the spell.

"That's not going to hold it for long," Aeris observed as the shelling began to crack from the encased creature.

"Then let's make it count while we can," Cloud responded. He focused all of his energy into this one single spell.

"BOLT!!!" The cry split the air, coming down with the fury of the lightning that ripped through the ice and into the beast's flesh, causing it to cry out in pain once again as if fried from the inside out. With a screech of anger, the APS broke through the Ice with an insane glint in its eyes, now doubly consumed with the desire to kill.

It made straight for Cloud, but the Ex-SOLDIER was ready, meeting its swing with a deflecting blow and then bringing his sword down upon his arm. The monster's resilient scales were its only saving grace from the weapon, which unbelievably only left a gash on the thing.

Cloud was stunned as well, both from the ineffectiveness of his trained blow and the realization that this blow only served to infuriate the beast further. He gritted his teeth.

"Tifa!" he shouted. She looked up to him in doubt while he continued.

"Keep it occupied for a quick second!" he shouted. The fighter quickly gave a thumbs up and immediately leapt towards the beast as it was focused on Cloud. Bounding up its massive frame, she pounced on its head before kicking and leaping off in a double back flip.

The APS stopped for a brief second, as not only the blow had shaken it but also from the revelation of what such a puny little thing was capable of. Its wonderment did not last for long, as Tifa took advantage of the lull by taking a swing at the thing, which felt its face cut from the blow of steel. Tifa assaulted the beast again and again, each massacring punch disallowing the beast to counter. However, she felt herself start to become fatigued and weary with each blow, as the massive frame of APS took its toll on the woman's powerful but slender arms.

"Cloud!" she yelled as she gave the creature an uppercut that began the combination of punches anew. "This isn't working! How…"

Tifa trailed off as she glanced around for Cloud, searching for where he had gone. A gasp escaped from her mouth as she spotted him atop a series of pipelines that overhung the dank passage. He readied his sword with an intention to strike, hoping to finish the fight in a single blow.

But the brief focus of Tifa's eyes had caught the monster's attention as well, who, following her glance, spotted the warrior just as he leapt downward. 

First lashing out and tripping Tifa with its tail to stun her, the creature turned slowly in anticipation. To the horror of the girl before him, the creature swung out and connected Cloud in midair with its strong arm, sending him flying out in a hail of debris.

Its attention refocused as Tifa slipped and slid in the grime in an attempt to get up. Its tongue slithered over its lips and its fangs dripped and drooled with venom as it prepared for its next kill.

But as it raised its arm, it was unexpectedly pierced by a quick projectile sailing through the air, pinning its hand to the floor. 

Aeris' rod struck like a javelin as her patience to make herself useful finally paid off. Rushing up as quickly as she could she swung herself on the impaled staff upwards and kicked the monster hard in the face before casting out her hand into the distance with a shout of, "Cure!"

The healing magic recovered Cloud even as he still soared through the putrid air. Recovering his cognizance in the blink of an eye, he reached out an arm and caught on to an outstretched pipe, and spun about it to launch himself once more even higher towards the creature.

The APS was about to pry the small detriment from its hand and resume itself when Cloud's battle cry signaled its end."

"BRAVER!!!"

Cloud's sword was readied behind him as he seemed to hang in the air with the power of this technique. In the next moment he was falling towards the monster with his weapon, focusing all his energy into his most powerful blow.

The monster never stood a chance, as its head parted grossly like butter under the awesome technique from the Ex-SOLDIER at his peak limit. Spurts of festering blood and foetor expelled from the thing as the sword cleaved the body of the monster—and Cloud didn't stop until the thing had been halved, destroying it for sure and reuniting it with the sewer that had spawned its wretched existence.

With that done he kneeled in satisfaction and exhaustion. Yet moments later he felt a cool breeze seem to uplift him once again, and with that sensation realized that Aeris was using the Healing Wind once more to revitalize them.

Tifa experienced the feeling as well, and made her noticing clear. "That doesn't feel like a Cure spell…," she started, looking over oddly at Aeris and Cloud.

"Later," Cloud said. "We've…"

"It's too late," Tifa suddenly cut in, brutally reminded of the doom of Sector 7. Tears began to well in her eyes. "Marlene…Barret…the people of the slums…"

"Don't give up, never give up hope," Aeris said in consolation, resting her hand upon Tifa's shoulder. Tifa looked up apprehensively into Aeris' bright smile while she continued, "It's not easy to destroy the pillar, right?"

Tifa felt her own optimism rekindle alongside a wave of nostalgia that she couldn't quite explain right then. "…Yeah…," she agreed hopefully, "you're right! We still have time."

"Well, then let's get out of here," Aeris said, picking up her staff and helping Tifa to her feet.

"All right," Cloud said. "But first, let's see if there anything worth taking in this refuse."

"I only found one thing," Tifa said, holding up a shimmering yellow orb. Cloud gave the materia an interested look while Tifa continued, "It's Steal materia."

"What does it do?" Cloud asked.

"I don't know," Tifa said, examining it. "It's a yellow materia…which means it doesn't expend any magical energy to use." Cloud nodded. A command materia, which is what the orb appeared to be, derived upon its own power rather than the user's. It was an oddity amongst materia, like the purple tinted Independent materia—exemplified by Cloud's Cover. The difference between the two types was that an Independent materia acted from its own accord, while a Command Materia could be controlled.

She continued quizzically, "But I'm not exactly certain what it can do. I've never encountered materia like this before."

"Aeris?" Cloud asked, holding up the item. She shook her head negatively in an indication of unfamiliarity. Cloud shrugged and handed it back to Tifa.

"Let's have you hang on to it," he said, prompting Tifa to snap the materia into her remaining armor slot. "Now," he said, glancing around as the lesser scum of the sewers began to reassert itself in the absence of APS, "let's get out of here."

*** * * * ***

The rusty iron-bound manhole that rested at the center of the death had long since lost most of its utilization. The once secure latches had been stripped unceremoniously by the hands of time, replaced only by the sticky puss of the depths below. The steam pulsated against the crusty metal, causing the putrid mass to rise and fall in perpetual conflict, never to be resolved.

_Save for the intervention of an Ex-SOLDIER._

Cloud cast off the obstacle before him in a flash, moving the filthy scum that had kept it secure to sprinkle down upon him and his compatriots in an absurd baptism of waste that ended their stay at the lowest point of Midgar. He craned his head towards the sky that was the Plate—its ominous continued presence for the first time a relief of sorts.

Tifa emerged next, followed by Aeris, all of whom rested on the cobbled ground taking in the scenery around them.

For they had encroached upon the grandest of spectacles in all the slums of Midgar. A sprawling assortment of discarded vehicles entrapped the three outsiders, each one a dilapidated locomotive that had once served upon the tracks of Midgar. The wasteland was a massive train graveyard, a symbol of the fading grandeur that Midgar once was and always would be.

Tifa and Aeris mouthed silent reverence to the forgotten travesty that had been buried in silent melancholy. Cloud simply cast his eyes down as nostalgia began to waft through his systems once more, only now independent from Aeris' talents.

"Aeris," he began grimly as he drifted from his reverie. "I got you mixed up in all of this…" His brows furrowed, now reminded of her presence in the awful danger that she had never meant to be a part of.

Or so it would seem. "Don't tell me to go home," she said in an order that above all else was true to the generous and selfless nature of the flower girl—to any friend or stranger. She looked from Cloud and met Tifa's eyes hopefully, infusing her with trust and an even more precious hope than before.

Tifa hopped up and hoisted herself up tightly on a spare chain, lifting herself in a position to examine the site and locate Sector 7. "Let's see…," she mused loudly, "if we can just get past the trains that are lit up, we should be able to get out of here." The dimly sparking trains seemed to trace a path back to the home of all dying things—the Sector 7 train station.

"Then through the trains it is," Cloud announced, hopping through an open hole in the side of a train. He reached his arms for Tifa and Aeris and yanked them both up through the opening and started the long walk toward Sector 7.

The trains were ordered in no particular manner whatsoever—a single locomotive was just as likely to be level with the ground as it was likely to be perpendicular. Encountering their first train at a 90 degree angle, and hedged in between other forms of wreckage, Cloud led Aeris and Tifa upwards on a climb through the boxcar.

"Careful," he warned as he scaled the decaying jutted tables and benches that were nailed to the floor of the car. He deliberately climbed slower than usual in a stunted pace for the sake of his unenhanced partners.

"Urgh…," Aeris grunted as she spied Cloud reaching the top. "How much further?"

"From the looks of it," he said, "a few more columns of cars, and then a few engines before we're there." He planted his feet on a railing and slid down the other end of the car, imitated directly after by Tifa skidding down the same. Aeris came last, easing her way down more carefully than the former two.

"Aeris…," Tifa started as they continued steadily onward across the next series of ladders and overturned crates. "Back there in the sewers, that wasn't exactly a Cure spell, was it…"

"Her Cure spells just feel different for some reason, that's all," Cloud interjected roughly before Aeris had a chance to respond. "I noticed it too earlier."

"But…," Tifa began, glancing over at Cloud's expressionless face before deciding to drop the matter. Aeris simply stared quietly, pondering Cloud's deflection of Tifa's short-lived interest as well as the rationale behind it. She didn't have long to do so, however, before Cloud spoke again.

"We're here," he stated.

What greeted his senses, however, was a subtlety that was unseen initially from his previous observations. The engines of the trains did not only lie before the entrance to Sector 7, they completely blockaded it. A strange jumble of odd noises and eerie laughter rolled and echoed through the train graveyard while Cloud unsheathed his Buster Sword and held it out with anticipation.

"A trap…," he whispered.

"A trap?" Tifa exclaimed. "The place is completely devoid of life as it is! What thing would lay a trap in this wasteland?"

"Something waiting for a very specific type of prey," Aeris whispered with a gravity that betrayed her supposed innocence. Cloud glanced at her.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked.

"No…not exactly," she replied. "I…I can feel it…"

"What?" Tifa said incredulously before a stark rumble began to split the area, although whether it was from the graveyard of souls or the Sector 7 beyond no one could be sure.

Then, all at once, from the infinite reserve of intangibility a new swarm of entities began to appear in view. At first appearing to be only the whim of an imaginative figment, they began to come in so perceptibly that rather than instill disbelief, they simply incited fear from their pure existence.

The Ghosts of the Train Graveyard had arisen for their blood, and the sacrifice to be paid was now before them.

"They're only monsters," Cloud shouted, rushing towards the first with his weapon and slicing straight through it, cutting only the outer rim of the thing before his sword passed through nigh but air.

"No," Aeris whispered, standing still while a cloud of ghosts began to swirl about her, each of the entities more reluctant to approach the flower girl than the other two, who were presently attacking each of the creatures with all their might.

"I can't hit them, Cloud!" Tifa shouted as another of her spin kicks passed right through the beings behind her. The ghosts retaliated with a red ball of magic which Tifa barely but cleaned evaded with a somersault. 

"Well, then let's try to get out of here instead," Cloud yelled back. Sheathing his sword once more, he took off towards the rusted beltway of train engines, already prepared to take action on the rusted hunks of metal.

"Bolt-All!" he cried, blasting all of the trains in a massive jumpstart. Reaching the closest train, he flung open the door and shut it securely. With a few flicks of switches and pulls of levers, the train blocking the entrance to Sector 7 began to move out of the way.

"It's working!" Tifa yelled, flipping out of the way of another attack from the bloodthirsty beings.

But Cloud could not respond—for the intangible things had passed through the door of the train, pinning Cloud down in the bowels of the back. With nowhere to go, Cloud rose upwards and burst through the top of the train in an amazing feat. He quickly slid down the side and motioned to Tifa and Aeris to leave when he was suddenly sent sprawling backwards—knocked out.

"What is that?" Tifa mouthed, looking at the monstrosity that had toppled Cloud from behind. It was a vaguely humanoid figure, with a glaring eye that expelled a single blue laser, the same that had incapacitated Cloud moments before. Yet at the torso the body was replace by aging wheels, towed by large animal-like legs topped by a large armor plated head. 

Aeris looked upon the beast with no more than resigned recognition. "Eligor," she stated breathlessly. "Conductor of the Dead."

Tifa, while surprised, was not keen on detracting her attention from the new foe. Stepping out protectively in front of the incapacitated Cloud and readied her fists in opposition.

"Wait! Stop!" 

Just as Tifa lunged at the thing called Eligor she heard Aeris' warning, and reacted on pure instinct to stop midway just as the monster craned into a metaphysical counterattack that would have easily killed the fighter.

As if in retaliation the ghosts that had warily circled Aeris immediately attacked her, leaving her scant time to dive out of the air and counter in an extremely strange maneuver. 

"Cure!"

Where all tangible attacks had failed, now the transcending planes of the Cure spell permeated the space before her, forcing into the undead creatures with a resounding force.

With shocking yet ultimately inevitable effect, the ghosts about began to shriek wildly in agony and dissipated painfully before Aeris' eyes, the curative magic rending their specters asunder. 

Aeris quickly turned to Tifa and shouted, "Use Steal!" just as Eligor readied itself for a second charge.

Even more bewildered but trusting in Aeris' intentions, Tifa unconsciously tapped into the Steal materia with a quick focus. All at once the world became blurred to her, and she felt her body drift acutely towards the keeper of the undead. 

Her hands thrust out, simultaneously independent and of her own accord. They flung towards the beast, curving closer than she could ever hope to safely attempt—never hurting, always edging more and more.

Suddenly she gripped onto something that she could scarcely believe was there—a staff embedded within the creature's gut. Acting quickly, she yanked it out ferociously, leaping backwards in triumph with a luminescent staff that shone even in the dank pits bereft of light.

"That's it!" Aeris cried. "Toss it to me!" Tifa rolled the staff across the ground to the flower girl, who promptly took it up in place of her original staff.

With a deep breath, she viciously attacked the remaining ghosts that still lingered. But rather than prove ineffective, the staff instead shattered their images on contact, obliterating them instantaneously. Furthermore, the Eligor creature began to stiffen and lax as the infuriated souls about it were dispatched and released from their hellish existence.

Tifa noticed the opportunity and now attacked with an unbridled offensiveness. Placing her strongest techniques into play, she pounded the creature again and again, literally displacing the ground beneath until its pallid blood and broken body were scattered like ashes amongst the wreckage.

And as its power waned further, the grip of Cloud's incapacitation seemed to weaken as well. "Oh…," he mumbled, motionless but for the pain etched upon his brows.

"Cloud!" Tifa said in earnest as she struck the creature with a final, killing blow. She trotted over to his limp body with Aeris close behind, the remainder of the ghosts rid of at last.

"What happened?" he asked as both women helped him to his feet, shedding him of his gigantic weapon and equipment for the moment.

"We won," Aeris said finitely. While Tifa seemed anxious to press the matter once more, this seemed to be satisfactory enough for Cloud.

"Right," he said. "The Sector 7 pillar—let's go!"

_If it weren't already too late…_

The ground rumbled once more.

*** * * * ***

"We made it! The pillar's still standing!"

Tifa's exclamation vocalized in a mixture of shock and disbelief that was for once a relief to the three companions. The mechanical pillar of flesh was still ominously presiding over the Sector 7 slums in grim oppression, signifying the beat of life still fast within the decaying ruins.

"Wait!" Cloud said, perking up his ears as a rabble of sounds began to trickle their way into his perception. "You hear something…above us?"

Almost as abruptly as it came the relief faded from existence as the sounds above began to make themselves more and more clear and perceptible by the second. Hope began to be dashed once more, and the Noise of inevitability reasserted itself once more.

"…gunfire?" Aeris mouthed at last in a broken voice.

 Resignedly, regretfully, Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris all drew their eyes upwards, and glared at the bursts of fire and light, the endless repeats that signified the greatest battle ever held upon the damned and hallowed ground of the oppressed Hell.

And as their eyes adjusted to the strange rhythm of flickering, a twinkle caught each of their eyes, growing ever closer until it was evident that the thing was no twinkle at all, but instead a living, breathing entity soon to be absorbed into that same hallowed ground…

"Wedge!!"

The stout thickened man that was once Wedge had plummeted far from the pillar, now only a vague shell of what he once had been. His assault rifle remained limply grasped within his fingers, the ammunition utterly spent. His shirt was bloodied and torn, and his torso looked ultimately torn asunder by the splintering fall. Cloud rushed to his side and gripped his body in shock, keeping the poor victim's pulse upon his palm.

"You all right!?" Cloud added belatedly, watching his heaving frame convulse as his bandanna flittered off his head to reveal his bloodied brow.

"…Cloud…," Wedge mouthed, seeing the returned Ex-SOLDIER as he fought to regain consciousness. "You remembered…my name." He chuckled at the irony.

"Barret's up top…help him…," the AVALANCHE member wheezed, sputtering up another clump of blood from his innards in a thoroughly disgusting fashion. He became even more still as he fought to maintain consciousness.

"An' Cloud…," he breathed in a whisper as his body seemed to lose all fight in it. "Sorry, I wasn't any help."

As Wedge lost consciousness, Cloud turned his head to Tifa and Aeris and proclaimed a simple statement. "I'm going up!"

"Aeris," he added simply as he placed Wedge's head down gingerly and stood up, "you look after Wedge." She nodded in assention, kneeling down and tending to the wounded man in a way that Cloud was not sure he was ready to comprehend. He motioned to Tifa, who nodded in return and turned to Aeris as well in preparation.

"Aeris, do me a favor," she requested of the flower girl as she turned to follow Cloud. "I have a bar called 'Seventh Heaven' in this neighborhood. There's a little girl named Marlene there…"

"Don't worry," Aeris assured her. "I'll put her somewhere safe."

Tifa smiled and looked around at the dazed group of the slum's residents that were now converging on the pillar. "It's dangerous here!" Tifa warned frantically. "Everyone get away from the pillar, quickly! Everyone get out of Sector 7!"

The milling people began to sudden realize the dire straits of their own situations, and the type of huddled panic began to grip them, sparking them to flee or stare in meaningless method. But this was of no concern to both Cloud and Tifa, who both took off running towards the stranglehold of the pillar.

Greeting by a winding staircase, Cloud showed no signs of slowing down as he whipped up the steps with a blinding speed, forcing Tifa to catch her breath in a vain struggle to keep up. Cloud had not risen far, however, when he was exposed to the same scene he had seen only moments before.

"Cloud…," Biggs coughed out, draped in a stricken pose over the railing of the stairwell in the pains of death. Bullet-holes riddled his appendages, while the modest armor that he had once been fitted in had literally shattered from the strain. 

Cloud reached his hand out and brushed his ever weakening body while Biggs continued with a slight smile, "So you don't care…what happens…to the…Planet?"

"You're wounded…," Cloud could only respond, fighting to compose himself while the welled-up tears in Tifa's eyes started to flow freely.

Biggs could only offer up that same sly smile in response while his body soaked to the color of his own hair. "Thanks, Cloud," he said happily. He struggled to look up, then, upon failing, continued, "…don't worry 'bout me…Barret's…fighting up there. Go help him…"

Cloud sighed out in remorse before turning his head back and deserting Biggs to his lonesome death, continuing up the stairs even faster than previously.

As he grew nearer and nearer to the top, the sound of Barret's Assault Gun firing became even more notable, while a Shinra helicopter circling the building was pelted repeatedly by hundreds of shelling. Shinra paratroopers floated from the chopper and the upper section of the Plate in droves, most of them cut down by Barret's wild and maddened artillery.

As Cloud reached the next plateau in the stairway, he was greeted by yet another surprise.

Yet to his shock, it was a pleasant one.

"Jessie?" he said, seeing the slender AVALANCHE recruit relatively unharmed in the heat of battle.

She turned about to the sound of Cloud's voice, and her grimy face was illuminated at the sight of her lost companions. "Cloud!" she exclaimed joyously.

Yet for all the good luck in the world it could never have lasted. For in that fraction of a second, when all the world around them was ignored simply for the sake of each other, inevitability would rear its ugly head once more.

And in that brief moment, a lone Shinra paratrooper that had gotten away from Barret's firefight landed upon the stairs. Its propellers detached into dual rotating weapons, and as the party upon the landing became aware of the paratrooper's existence, he slashed forward and ripped into Jessie's backside, severing her spine and leaving her crumpled at the floor.

"JESSIE!!!" Cloud screamed, leaping at the attacker and dismembering his body with a ravaging slice from his Buster Sword, letting loose a hail of blood that spread across his already stained uniform. 

Running back to Jessie, he could see the terror and hurt in her eyes, the unfairness of the entire situation reflecting in her soft eyes as tears began to trickle from them. She had worn no armor; this battle was forced upon her. There was no hope, no light, only an infinite sadness and wonder while her tears continued to fall while Cloud lifted her body up to his own in a vain attempt to stem the blood flow.

"…Cloud…," Jessie stated at last, letting her hair fall while Cloud wiped away the grime from her cheek. Tifa could only stand aside and continue to weep for her fallen comrades, while Jessie continued on.  
  


"I'm glad…I could talk with you one last time."

Cloud's voice caught in his throat as he tried to respond. The new feeling and wonderment that had pent up inside him, the strangeness that had been released ever since his fall from Sector 5, all these things threw the death of somebody he knew and cared about into full view once again. He shuddered as he responded, "Don't say 'last'…," as lightly as he could, pulling her tighter again.

Jessie sobbed again, now with more of a sad despair than recklessness. "That's…all right…," she said. "Because of our actions…many…people died…this probably…is our punishment…"

She struggled again. "Cloud," she murmured, twitching her hand uselessly while Cloud relaxed his grip. "Cloud…"

"Jessie…," was all Cloud could respond with, and let her body slump peacefully to the ground and the tears dry upon the cold steel.

"Cloud…," Tifa said as he knelt there next to Jessie's lifeless body. "We…we've got to go."

"Go," Cloud said as he ground his eyelids shut. "I'll be there." Tifa left at this statement, leaving Cloud to his own thoughts.

Cloud's closed eyes opened slightly as a small object tumbled and bounced across his leg, stirring him. Upon inspecting the item, his countenance shook a fatal inch more, and he gripped it while letting a single tear fall from his face. 

Then the powerless warrior stood, and rose to meet what was left of the remaining member of AVALANCHE up top.

And so it came to pass that through blood of the innocent and the wicked entwined that the three remaining members of AVALANCHE were reunited at the pinnacle of the slum, each marred by the time of separation and rebellion.

Barret Wallace had nearly expended all of his high-powered ammunition. The Assault Gun had since been modified into a chain-gun, allowing him to fire indefinitely without having to reload. The cases of spent ammunition chipped out alongside him, while the chopper continued to keep its distance from being pelted.

But just as the waning Barret seemed to be ready to give out, his two allies from his past reached the top of the pillar at last.

"Tifa!" he exclaimed as he saw them reach the top. "Cloud!" His voice was a personification of astonishment and relief from the pain he had been forced to endure through the day. "You came!" he concluded happily, waiting as the two rushed to his position.

"Be careful," he warned over his ear-splitting fire as they approached. They're attacking from the helicopter." 

The string of bullets remaining in Barret's possession continued to thin, while the helicopter simply remained stationary in anticipation of a lull in his firing.

"Better equip ourselves before they attack in full force!" Tifa related to Cloud. They both ran over to Barret's remaining supplies, gathering up the precious few items that were left. 

And finally the bullets ceased to expel from Barret's gun-arm as the chain-link modification was spent. Detaching the addition, he rammed a clip of standard ammunition within the barrels of his gun and awaited whatever the Shinra had to offer.

*** * * * ***

"Here they come!" Tifa cried.

The helicopter now railed toward the pillar with a tremendous might, knocking the three rebels off their feet as it quaked the air about it. Blinded and dazed, only Cloud was astute enough to catch a glimpse of the figure leaping out of the helicopter with a flip. 

As the helicopter passed in its successful feint, the three AVALANCHE members saw the man hit the ground with a thud before immediately making a beeline for the pillar's circuitry.

Cloud, however, noticed even more as the man's face faded into view. "Reno!" he shouted. The Turk ignored him dismissively while he stepped to the panel.

"You're too late," he scoffed, punching in a series of keys with blinding speed. "Once I press this button…"

A single tone of confirmation was the death knell for the group as Reno merely looked to them with satisfaction. "That's all, folks!" the blue-suited man gloated. "Mission accomplished."

Tifa registered this in horror as she raised her fists. "We have to disarm it! Cloud! Barret! Please!" she pleaded.

As she said this, Reno slid a long metal staff topped with a series of coils from within the folds of his suit, placing it into his hands menacingly. "I can't have you do that," he stated coolly. "No one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks…"

"You think you can take us?" Cloud scoffed. Without any other word, he charged Reno with his sword held high, poised to eradicate the man from existence.

Reno only smiled evilly at the approaching Ex-SOLDIER and watched as he raised his sword to strike. Then, at the precise moment that Cloud struck, Reno matched his blow with his nightstick, barely deflecting the attack. 

Reno held his staff there, and then suddenly Cloud and his allies began to fill with dread as streaks of blue electricity snaked up Cloud's sword, easily conducted by the tempered metal. Before he could even release the blade, Cloud was electrified by the outstretched tendrils of lightning, held in paralysis by Reno while all Barret and Tifa could do was watch.

Finally, his malicious appetite seemingly sated, Reno released him from the attack, allowing him to fall gracelessly to the cold steel at his feet.

"Cloud!" Tifa screamed, rushing to his aid and cradling his spent body. His muscles were locked up in paralysis and his eyes flashed wildly in epileptic motions.

"The Electro-Mag Rod," Reno boasted to his attackers. One of a kind instrument, really—has the ability to blind and incapacitate any opponent."

He grinned before continuing, "Not to mention give them a really nasty jolt that could even down a SOLDIER."

"Yeah?!" Barret retorted angrily. "Well, let's see how well you block this shit, you fucker!" He unloaded his clip at Reno, who quickly dived out of the way before retaliating with his own attack.

"Pyramid!" he shouted, pointing his rod at the bombarding assailant. Streaks of yellow exploded from the rod, curving towards Barret and binding his movements, solidifying around him horribly until he was completely trapped within a golden incandescent pyramid. 

The AVALANCHE leader erupted as he came to the realization that he had been restrained. Firing his gun only to find that it merely passed through the pyramid like air, he pounded uselessly against the material before he tried another—and ultimately devastating—maneuver.

"Fire!" he belted out, surrounding his prison in a vortex of flames. However, the flames could not escape the trap, succeeding only in burning the enclosure, drowning out his oxygen. 

"Damn," Barret lamented as he realized his folly, crumpling motionless as Cloud had moments before.

"Well, then," Reno assessed methodically as he turned to Tifa. "I suppose that only leaves you."

His dry humor was snipped, however, when he became aware of the fury building up within Tifa at witnessing her two comrades treated in such a matter. Her fists clenched and her anger rose, until it coalesced into a single expulsion.

"Beat Rush!" she screamed. 

Focusing and tapping into her technique of fury, her fists alighted upon Reno instantaneously, pounding and ripping into his bone that was barely spared by the upper-class armor that he wore.

He attempted to counter with a strike from his rod, but Tifa quickly back flipped over the attack and transited into a kick that drew blood from Reno across his face. It became even more and more clear to him that she was a superior fighter as the battle raged on. 

Reno threw another punch that was quickly blocked by the female dynamo, and was returned with two kicks to the midsection followed by a massive uppercut. Tifa continued to pound until her blows became fluid and blurred, while her fists glowed red with the intense training that she had underwent her entire life.

Tifa at last stopped at this, and hurried over to Barret's aid, shattering the pyramid from the outside and releasing him before he was completely suffocated. "Wake up, Barret!" she pleaded as she breathed life back into his massive body.

Reno had arisen in the intermission, as Tifa had expected him to do. But he did not dare face the fighter again in a frontal assault. Rather, he decided to opt for a dirtier route.

"Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed as she laid her eyes on Reno, who had the Ex-SOLDIER firmly within his grasp and was holding a knife to his throat.

"Now," he threatened, "let's have you…"

But before he could finish, he suddenly had the wind knocked out of him and staggered backwards. Not an attack from Tifa, but an elbow from the reawakened Cloud, who immediately flailed about for the Turk while Reno looked on.

"Having trouble seeing?" he taunted at the blinded warrior while he readied his flickering rod, all the while keeping a close eye on Tifa. He circled behind the Ex-SOLDIER soundlessly, readying another strike at his quarry, when Cloud responded.

"No."

Cloud fell to the floor and immediately released an object from his hand, letting the gizmo go into the air. Tifa immediately recognized what it was—one of Jessie's magnetic grenades, most likely designed to home in on the unique metallic casing of Reno's Electro-Mag Rod…

Reno slimly avoided the grenade as it exploded towards him, shouting with a thud as shrapnel cut into his body and tore away the jacket of his uniform.

Cloud immediately wrenched his body towards the sound of Reno's groan, gauging the distance and swinging powerfully, beautifully connecting and cutting Reno along his arm and chest, wounding with a blow past the protection of his armor.

"Ah!" he cried, clutching himself in agony while Cloud simply knelt in satisfaction, his eyesight slowly returning. Reno picked himself up, and, glancing at the motherboard, backed up towards the railing of the pillar while Cloud and Tifa edged closer.

"It's time," he stated, and with not another word he backed up and over the railing and plummeted towards the bottom of the slums.

"Guys!" Barret entreated of the two, now recovered from his suffocation. The also rejuvenated Cloud ran to his side, while Tifa frantically scanned the monitor of the Plate's system.

"Cloud! I don't know how to stop this!" she called. "Try it!"

Taking his place at her side, he examined the system briefly before simply observing, "It's not a normal time bomb."

"That's right."

Cloud, Barret, and Tifa whipped around to witness a Shinra helicopter rise from below their position at the pillar, with Reno securely fastened to the side while another individual spoke to the three rebels.

"You'll have a hard time disarming that one," he stated nonchalantly in the stale whipping wind. His face was smooth and elongated, unruffled by the intensity of the situation. He hung out of the doors of the chopper, his face only acknowledging the fact by slightly squinting in the dust while his long, flowing jet-black hair cascaded downwards in the escalating altitude.

"It'll blow the second some stupid jerk touches it," he finished calmly while his face sparked recognition in Cloud's mind. 

_Tseng, leader of the Turks…_

"Please, stop it!" Tifa implored helplessly.

"Ha ha ha…," Tseng chuckled perceptibly to rile the desperate female. "Only a Shinra Executive can set up or disarm the Emergency Plate Release System."

"Shut yer hole!" Barret bellowed, unleashing a torrent of bullets at the helicopter, causing Tseng to retract slightly and deliver a warning:

"I wouldn't try that…you just might make me injure our special guest."

He stepped aside to reveal his prize: Aeris.

"Aeris!!" Tifa shouted in dismay while Cloud stared in shock.

"Oh, you know each other?" Tseng began again, noticeably pleased at the coincidence. "How nice you could see each other one last time. You should thank me."

"What are you gonna do with Aeris?" Cloud demanded.

"I haven't decided," Tseng spit back venomously while he continued to celebrate. "Our orders were to find and catch the last remaining Ancient."

Cloud's blood turned to ice at this statement while Tseng went on. "It's taken us a long time, but I can finally report this to the President."

Unexpectedly as he said this, Aeris leapt out of the helicopter and leaned out of the side, barely restrained by Tseng whilst he was taken aback.

"Tifa, don't worry!" she shouted as she helplessly struggled against her captors. "She's all right!" 

Yanking her back within the bowels of the helicopter, Tseng delivered a slap across the face to Aeris that sent her sprawling—and Cloud's blood boiling.

"Aeris!" Tifa repeated helplessly.

"Hurry and get out!" Aeris croaked as she sobbed from the anguish and pain.

"Ha, ha, ha…," Tseng began again with firm control. "Well, it should be starting right about now. Think you can escape in time?"

With that statement, the helicopter ascended towards the upper tiers of Midgar, leaving the pillar just as explosions rippled across its surface, parting concrete and steel in a horrific sight that reflected the Hell that the place truly was.

The pillar continued to crumble and topple, while the Plate above noticeably creaked and moaned, damning the denizens of Heaven along with their oppressed.

Tifa moaned. "Once that Plate starts coming down it's too late. We gotta hurry!" she cried helplessly.

Barret, thinking quickly, took a hook suspended from the Plate above and stretched it taut, warping it into an escape rope. "Yo, we can use this wire to get out!" he advised.

Ushering Tifa to the forefront of the wire, and edging Cloud on his shoulders, the big man and his comrades pushed off the pillar just as it completely collapsed, allowing the Plate to spiral down in a storm of metal and fire. The three swung downward, completely clearing the Sector 7 boundaries into the realm of Sector 6 just as the wire broke and shattered along with the whole of Sector 7. 

The Plate that had threatened its oppression for so long had finished its long threat. Its fall, leaving the citizens atop it bereft, crushed every resident of the slums, filling the air with their screams. All of the makeshift dreams and hopes were at once eliminated, every snuff of life obliterated. The fire rose in back draft, the annihilation was brutal and total, and the eradication was final.

The Noise of Midgar was much louder right then, as the combined lives extinguished grew so much that even the music of the angels couldn't drown them out.

That is, until the President Shinra turned up the volume just a little bit more, then continued observing the chaos from atop his office in brutal satisfaction.

The Noise then quieted. For in Sector Seven, there was no noise.

No. Nothing at all.

End of Chapter 6.


End file.
